His beloved student
by hapum
Summary: "I sound like some obsessed stalker... Well, I've always known I'm strange", "Takumi, alien, tell me what's wrong!" - a relationship between a teacher and his lovely student is never easy. Especially when Takumi is jealous, Misaki has mood swings and many have the hots for the fierce student council president. / I don't own Kaichou wa Maid-Sama!
1. Prologue

**Hello! This is my first fanfic in English, so there may be some mistakes. I had some problems with publishing this…**

Prologue

"Why… all of the boys in the world, did I fall in love with an idiot like him?" Misaki mumbled. She had a bitter smile on her beautiful face, and if you looked closer you could see tears in her cheeks. She didn't want to be seen, so she was sitting in an empty beach – who would be there when it was this late?

Misaki felt something cold drop on the top of her nose, then on her cheeks, then almost everywhere. Something was dropping from the sky, and she realized it started to rain. Her first though was that the universe was making fun of her, but after thinking a minute or two, she realized the sky was crying with her. Also, the raindrops were covering her tears.

She didn't know how she ended up to the beach. A few hours ago, she was walking in the streets. She saw a cute couple, holding hands, talking sweet things to each other, kissing… The girl from the couple was a girl from their school, and the boy… was her boyfriend, Tora Igarashi. Not the popular girl's, Misaki's. And when she realized it, she punched that cheater from all her might, yelled as hard as possible and ran away.

At first, she felt hatred towards him. But before she realized it, she was angry for herself. She was angry for letting someone destroy the walls she built a long time ago, she was angry for letting someone in without even ringing the doorbell. Yes, Misaki saw herself as a building.

She clenched her hands into fists and raised her eyes to see the sky full of dark clouds. She enjoyed how the raindrops washed her tears away. Her bitter smile grew bigger.

"Fuck all of this… I'm going to get over that cheater and build better walls. I'm not going to let anyone in, even if that person tries to knock or ring the doorbell. I'm going to get stronger, I'm going to get better. I won't let anyone see my weakness. And I will be happy when no-one is able to break me and my walls. I will not have any windows, I won't let anyone see inside me. I will show that idiot how bad thing he did when he made someone feel something like this… I will prove myself I don't need anyone – after all, I was doing well even when I didn't know him. I will just go back to those times", she spoke in loud voice and started laughing, but she stopped it, when she heard someone's voice.

"Here I am, walking in the beach, enjoying the rain, and then, suddenly, I hear how someone talks to herself and then starts laughing like she's insane. That's really creepy, and for a second, I considered running away."

She turned around to see who was behind her, and she saw a handsome boy… No, he was a man. He had emerald green eyes and spiky blond hair. Misaki didn't have time to look better, because she wanted to answer for him.

"You know, it's not kind to listen when someone's talking to herself", she said. She had a calm voice, but the man noticed the annoyance from it. If it would have been a normal day, or if she had known him, that man would be dead because of listening her.

"This is a public beach, you know. And I didn't listen you on purpose", the man answered. Misaki didn't answer to him, she just glared. He sighed in defeat.  
"Well, okay. I'm sorry. My name is Takumi Usui, what's yours?"  
"You don't have to know – it's not like we're going to talk more. I'm heading home now", she mumbled the last sentence before starting to walk away from the stranger.  
"Then I have to walk you home. It's not safe for a young girl to walk in the streets at this hour", he said and walked beside her.  
"I'm totally fine by myself", she mumbled back, not even turning to see the man, Takumi.  
"What will your parents say when they'll know you're walking alone in the middle of the night?" And that hit her vein. She stopped for a while, decided not to tell anything for him and continued walking.

She watched her shadow, and saw another person beside her. So that Takumi Usui didn't leave her alone. Misaki's eyebrow twitched, when she turned to see the man's face.  
"I don't need you to walk me home. Please, go away from me."  
"It's not safe for a young girl to walk in the streets at this hour", he repeated the sentence he said earlier.  
"I can defend myself… And besides, how do I know you are not dangerous? After all, you are following me to my home right now", she answered, slowly. Of course she could defend herself, she was not called "Demon President" for nothing. Takumi fell silent, but kept walking beside her.

When they were getting closer to her home, she stopped walking.  
"I'm not going home if you are going to follow me. I don't want a stranger to know where I live", Misaki said in a loud voice.  
"Then we are going to stay here for a long time."

Misaki wanted to kill that stranger. She closed her eyes and clenched her hands into fists – again – and tried to control her temper. She was pissed off. First, she found out about her cheater boyfriend, and now, someone was following her and not letting her go to her home. And because of the rain, they were both wet. She was also embarrassed about that he heard her when she was talking to herself before.

"And I live near, too. I just moved to this town", she heard Takumi saying. Slowly, she opened her eyes, but tightened her fists.  
"Then, please, go home. I will catch a cold if I don't change my clothes", Misaki mumbled, trying not to yell. Takumi looked like he realized something, and after a while, he nodded.  
"Yeah, good idea. I don't want to get sick, either."  
"Good", was all she said before starting to walk away from him. She didn't notice, how the man started to walk towards the same direction.

There weren't many people in the streets where she – and he, but she didn't notice him – were walking. She didn't pay attention to her surroundings, and before she even realized, someone was standing in front of her. The someone was a man with brown eyes and a perverted grin.

"Move away", she said, looking straight to the man's eyes. The man ignored her request.  
"Would you like to have fun with me?" he said. His grin grew even bigger, when he placed his hands on her waist.  
"No. Let go of me, now", she answered. She was starting to hate men even more right now.  
"I don't think so", the man answered. Misaki took a deep breath. She was full of the idiots.

Misaki kicked the man on his sensitive area with her knee, pushed him away and before starting to walk away from that idiot, she heard laughing from behind her. She turned to see who it was. Takumi Usui.

"Did you follow me?" she asked, clearly annoyed. Takumi couldn't say anything because of laughing, so he just shook his head. Misaki just turned away from him and started walking towards her home.

She lived in a block of flats, in the eighth floor. When she was waiting for the elevator, someone stepped inside the building. And the someone was Takumi Usui. Again.

"I'm going to call the police if you don't stop following me", Misaki said. She was still really annoyed.  
"I live here, too", Takumi answered, and when she gave him a startled look, he continued, "I moved in yesterday." Misaki was saying something, but the elevator's door opened and they stepped in.

For a while, there was an awkward silence between them.

"Which floor do you live in?" Takumi asked, when the girl beside him had fallen silent.  
"Eighth", she answered, slowly, and sighed.  
"Me too", he mumbled, more to himself. Misaki was quiet for a few seconds.  
"So", she started, "we are neighbors now. I guess it's not bad if I tell you my name. I'm Misaki Ayuzawa." Takumi looked at her in amazement, but quickly recovered. He wasn't waiting for that.  
"Nice to meet you", he said, smiling.  
"Yeah, I wouldn't say that…" Misaki mumbled. Before Takumi could even laugh, the doors opened. It took about one minute from the first floor to the eighth floor. They stepped out.

"Good night, Ayuzawa", Takumi said while opening his apartment's door.  
"Yeah, good night to you, too", she mumbled, trying to find her key from her bag. Fortunately, she found it quickly and opened the door.

Takumi stared Misaki's door for a minute before stepping inside his apartment. His place was little and he didn't have lots of furniture, but he liked his apartment.

Aside from his apartment, he wanted to know things about that Ayuzawa Misaki. He had realized three facts about her by himself, and these were the facts:  
1\. She doesn't like letting people near to her and get to know her. In the beach, she was talking about stronger walls and she mentioned something about windows, too.  
2\. She talks to herself.  
3\. She really can defend herself. It's like she's used to it, like she does it all the time and there's nothing wrong in acting violent against other people.  
So, those were not really useful facts. He wanted to know everything from her age to her favorite movie. He didn't know why. This was the first time he wanted to know someone so badly, but he would make sure he would get to know her.

"I sound like some obsessed stalker… Well, I've always known I'm strange."


	2. Chapter 1

**Oh, thank you for reviews and follows! They made me really happy!**

**I guess this chapter is a boring one… Forgive me! I'm going to make the next one better, okay? And well, there's one more thing: I will be in England 17.-25.7, and it will probably take a few days after the trip to write the next chapter IF I don't start writing before leaving.**

**Well, I hope you enjoy this chapter… Although it may be hard.**

First chapter

The first thing Misaki noticed in the morning was her empty stomach and growing hunger. She blinked her eyes a few times before getting up from her bed. She walked straight to kitchen and opened the fridge, only to see that there was nothing. She cursed and walked to toilet.

"I guess I have to go to grocery… I'm so hungry… ", she mumbled to herself while washing her face with cold water. When she looked herself from the mirror, she remembered what happened yesterday. Great, she was getting angry this early in the morning, and the hunger wasn't helping at all. It just made her even grumpier. She started washing her teeth.

So, yesterday, she saw her boyfriend Tora with someone else. She got pissed off because of it, so she punched him and ran to some beach. When she was talking to herself, someone – who else than Takumi Usui – heard her. Then, later that night, they found out they live in same block of flats. What's worst, they both live in the eighth floor.

Right now, she should be feeling sad and broken because of her idiot boyfriend's acts, but she wasn't. She promised to herself that she wouldn't shed even a tear for an idiot like him after those tears she shed in the beach. She wouldn't let herself break down because she let someone break her walls. She would just ignore that idiot and the feelings of betrayal and loneliness. Yeah, she would just go to grocery store and buy something to eat. That was the plan.

She wore tight black jeans, big red sweatshirt with some white text in it and white canvas shoes. She didn't really care what she looked like, but her sister, Suzuna and her friends Aoi and Sakura forced her to wear something prettier than sweatpants and men's shirts what she found from sales or secondhand stores. Her hair was tied on a bun and like usual, she didn't have any makeup on. Before leaving her apartment, she made sure she had her wallet, keys and phone with her in a black leather backpack.

When she was walking to the grocery store, she was thinking about summer vacation. School would start in two weeks, but it felt like the summer hadn't even started yet – it was too cold to be summer. When the schools would start, she would study harder – even when she was the top ranked student already, do her duty as student council president and build stronger walls around her. She wouldn't let anyone in. She woke up from her thoughts when she heard her phone, what was telling her she got a message. She took her phone from her backpack and opened the message.

_Honey, we need to talk.  
\- Tora  
_  
Even a single message made her blood boil. And he had the nerve to call her honey! Who the hell did he think he was?!

… Well, he was her boyfriend. Or better, ex-boyfriend. It was clear after what she saw yesterday. Misaki wasn't a person who would forgive someone easily after doing something like that to her. She didn't bother to answer him. Ayuzawa turned the phone to the mute tone. She didn't want to see that idiot before school starts again, so she would just ignore him for the rest of the vacation and at school, she would treat him like any other boy.

Misaki stepped inside the store and took a basket. She walked around the store, gathering things she needed. Cereals, bread, something to put on the bread like cheese and ham, convenience foods, ice cream, apples, milk, vegetables, eggs, cookies… Huh, that was going to cost a lot. She was happy she had money even a little right now. When her father died, she got money from him – it had been many years since that, but she didn't like using his father's money, and of course, she had a part-time job… In a café called Maid Latte. She was embarrassed about her job, but only her family, Tora the idiot and few friends knew about it.

When she was gathering the things she needed, she started thinking about her friends. Sakura Hanazono was a happy and cheerful girl, who always had her hair on two pigtails. Shizuko Kaga was usually emotionless and a little rude, but when needed, she offered her help. Aoi Hyoudou was a boy, who loved fashion and cute stuff – she used to crossdress a few years ago. He had a sharp tongue but he was a nice guy. Aoi was a nephew of Satsuki, Misaki's employer.

Oh, Misaki had to go to the line. She was in a hurry, because her hunger was growing.

So, let the thoughts of her friends continue… Satsuki was also her friend. She was a cheerful woman, too. Erika, Subaru and Honoka were her colleagues. While Erika and Subaru were friendly and helpful, Honoka was scary and bossy.

It was Misaki's time to pay for her gatherings. After paying for them, she packed them into a plastic bag, thanked and left the shop.

She didn't have more friends. Of course, she was in good terms with everyone (although boys were afraid of her and some of them even hated her, but she didn't count them as people), but she didn't have any closer bonds. She was bad with letting people know her. She had met her every friend accidentally and she had gotten to know them with time. Misaki was glad she had some-

She bumped into someone. Oh God, how hard did she hit her nose? It hurt a lot. At first, she was starting to yell, but she realized she was in the fault.  
"I'm sorry", she mumbled while massaging her nose and without looking at the person who she bumped she continued walking.

"Ayuzawa?" someone asked, and when Misaki heard her last name, she stopped walking and turned to see the person she bumped. What the hell? Again, Usui Takumi. She raised her eyebrows, like asking "what are you doing here?" but she didn't say anything, because it was totally normal for someone to be out of his home. She noticed a plastic bag on his hand, too.

"Ah, we both came from the grocery! So, let's walk home together, shall we?" Takumi asked, smiling.  
"Actually, I'm in hurry", Misaki answered. Yeah, she had to have something to eat!  
"No problem. I think I can walk even faster than you." It was a challenge. She smiled, and he was really amazed about how much more beautiful she looked with a smile on her face – of course, she looked beautiful even without it, but this was something… illuminating.  
"Challenge accepted", was all she said before starting to walk as fast as possible. Takumi did the same thing, and because he was taller than the girl, he was faster.

When they reached their house, Misaki was panting like she had run a marathon. Takumi was just smiling, and for that, he earned a glare from the girl beside him.

"Are you an alien or something? It's not normal to be like you didn't do anything while I'm dying here."

He opened his mouth to say something, but got instantly interrupted by a growl what came from the girl's stomach, and the heat rose to her face.

Takumi's heart missed a beat. Misaki was blushing. She looked really adorable, and Takumi wanted to hug her tightly, lock her to his place and spend the rest of his life by watching that incredible view in front of him. Instead, he laughed a little, which made her blush even more.

"Shut up. This is why I am in hurry", she mumbled while stepping into the elevator, followed by Takumi.  
"So you haven't eaten anything yet?" he asked, slowly. Misaki just nodded, which was hard to notice because she was watching down.  
"That's not healthy, you know?" the man said. Slowly, she raised her head up.  
"I didn't have anything in the fridge."

When the elevator's doors opened, Misaki was the first one stepping out, but she was immediately followed by Takumi. Not wanting to let her go, he tried to invent something to say.

"What are you going to eat? You know, it's almost time for lunch, so it may be good if you would just cook something", was the only thing he was able to say. And for his amazement, the girl blushed a little.  
"I can't cook… ", she mumbled, before taking her keys from her backpack. Takumi smiled.  
"Can I cook something? I have to eat something, too, so if you want to, you can come to my place and eat there", he proposed, and watched how the girl in front of him grinned.  
"Don't you have an idea of how suspicious that sounds?"  
"Well, I shouldn't sound suspicious. It just a friendly suggest… Unless you want something else", he answered. Now it was his turn to grin. Misaki blushed, again. It seemed to be easy to make her blush. How cute.  
"Y-you pervert!" she muttered and turned around to hide her face and open her door. Takumi had already his door open and her keys were back in his pockets, when Misaki was just unlocking the door.

"So, I see you in ten minutes. I'll make something", he said, and with that, he escaped to his apartment without waiting for an answer.

Misaki sighed, watched Takumi's apartment's door a few seconds and stepped to her own apartment. She brought the things she bought to kitchen and placed them to fridge or to the table. Her hunger was growing all the time, second by second, so she decided to eat at Takumi's place. Also, she wanted to see what kind of place he lived in… Oh wait, why? She shook her head to make those thoughts disappear.

She still had five minutes before going to Takumi's, so she checked her phone.

_7 NEW MESSAGES_

Wow, Misaki was popular today.  
_  
Misaki, really. Answer me.  
\- Tora_

Hahaha, no.  
_  
Give me a chance to explain.  
\- Tora_

No matter what the reason was for him to kiss another girl and act like a couple with someone else, Misaki wouldn't forgive that. And she didn't want to listen excuses.  
_  
I'll come to your place today.  
\- Tora_

But what she wouldn't open the door?

_Aren't you home? Why didn't you open the door for me?  
\- Tora_

Ah, he already stopped by while she was in the grocery.

_You're getting on my nerves.  
\- Tora_

Misaki felt how the anger made her blood boil. He was really blaming her on something like that after what he had done?

_You can't avoid me forever. School starts soon.  
\- Tora_

Maybe she can't avoid him, but she could treat him like any other boy or just ignore him.

_I'm not going to stop until you answer me.  
\- Tora_

He should just stop. If she wasn't answering now, it meant she wasn't going to answer even after a long time. Tora didn't even have the guts to call her instead of sending a message.

Now it was time to go Takumi's place to eat. The hunger was horrible, and if she would let it last longer, she would probably die because of it. So, because she didn't want to die, she took her keys and her phone with her and headed to the door what was next to hers. For a while, she thought should she ring the doorbell or knock, and she decided to do the first one. It didn't take even two seconds before the door was open.

"Were you standing on the other side of the door all the time? There's no way you could come to the door that fast", Misaki asked, but Takumi just chuckled as an answer and let the girl step in. She looked around, and realized the place was same shaped as hers and exactly same sized. The only difference between their apartments was the furniture: Misaki didn't almost have space for all her stuff, while Takumi only had a few things in there. Takumi led her to sit on a grey coach, and after that he went to kitchen. He came back with two plates.

They started eating in silence, but the amber eyed girl was amazed about Takumi's cooking skills. She ate something this good last time when her father was alive.  
"So you can cook, too. This is the best omelet rice I've eaten in a long time", she praised him without raising her gaze from the food she had almost eaten already. He didn't answer anything because he was too focused in watching the adorable view in front of his emerald green eyes. Misaki looked cute even while eating.

Takumi ate without tasting anything. He watched the girl all the time and was thinking about her. How old was she? She looked younger than him – he was already twenty-one. But if she was really young, she couldn't live alone. Was she still in high school? It would be horrible if he would be her teacher… If that would happen, he would be screwed. He was too interested of that girl. He started laughing.

"Why are you laughing?" Misaki asked, and she realized that Takumi was looking at her, "Do I have something in my face?" He just shook his head and tried to stop laughing. She looked at him for a while, but then she stood up and took their empty plates.  
"I'm going to wash these", she said and walked to the kitchen.  
"No need to, I can do it by myself", Takumi answered and hurried after her. Misaki stopped him with a simple glare.  
"You made me food, so the least I can do is to wash these", she didn't take "no" as an answer, so he decided to watch her and ask questions about her life.

"So, how old are you?" he started with a friendly smile on his face. Misaki didn't even turn her head to see him.  
"This year I will turn eighteen", she answered while washing the dishes. Takumi nodded, and started asking questions about everything between the sky and ground. Some questions were about her favorite things and some of them were about something more personal, and she didn't even notice how open she was with him.  
"Do you live alone?" was the question where Misaki realized how much she had told about herself to him. She and Tora had some plans on moving somewhere together, but now, when she knew how idiot he really was, she would probably stay alone for a long time.  
"Yes", was her short answer before placing the dishes to dry.

They didn't even notice how the time flew. They settled to his coach and talked about themselves (mostly it was Misaki who talked about herself because Takumi liked to listen and get to know her) for hours. At first the things they were talking about were not so personal, but after a while, they started talking about friends and studies. She was little hesitant about it, but after a while, it was almost forgotten.

"I don't have many friends, because I spend my time by studying and in my part-time job", oh crap, she mentioned her job, "and because I'm kind of bad with people. Boys are afraid of me because I'm the student council president. I'm not feminine enough to talk with girls about cosmetics and boys… Well, to be honest, I don't even know do they really talk about those things." And when Takumi was opening his mouth, something snapped inside Misaki's mind and she stood up.

What happened to Misaki's strong walls? What happened to "no windows, no letting anyone inside"? Why the hell was she talking about herself to her neighbor, who she met yesterday by accident? Those questions popped inside her mind. For a few seconds, she was quiet, but when Takumi was saying something, she interrupted it by opening her own mouth.  
"I have to go now. I… I have some things to do. Thank you for food", she said before hurrying to the door and escaping from his apartment. Quickly, she opened her door and slipped inside her own apartment.

Misaki threw her keys to her bed and stood in front of her huge window. She was angry, disappointed, sad and confused all same time, but somehow, she was kind of relieved. At least she didn't tell anything about her family or didn't mention where she was working. But if it was that easy to get to know something unnecessary (favorite movies etcetera), how easy would it be to get to know everything about her family, past and things like that?

It's not like she had the most tragic past of the people in the world. She was a happy child until her father died when she was eleven. The downhill started from Sakuya's death. Her mother got depressed (and later she got also physically sick), quit her job and their family got really poor. Misaki had to do every job she was able to, and at the same time she had to take care of her little sister and make sure her mother didn't kill herself. Now Minako the mother was better and she was living with Suzuna the sister in a little house in a nice suburb. Minako had a job and Misaki was giving them half of her payment. She was living by herself because of her school and part-time job were closer that in here.

She had a strong urge to call for her family once in a week, so today would be a good day for it. She wouldn't tell them about Tora, because it would make her even angrier while listening how angry her mother would get about "how badly that idiot had treated her lovely, innocent daughter". Misaki looked for her phone from her pockets, but when she realized it wasn't there, her eyes widened. She left it to Takumi's place…


	3. Chapter 2

**I did have some problems with this chapter, too, but I managed to write this whole chapter today. My mind is blank because I haven't been sleeping properly in a long time – it's too hot in Finland right now and I don't even have a fan… Pity me.**

**England was a nice place, but I couldn't help but miss my dear computer and better Wi-Fi. I'm worried about how I'm going to keep this story alive when my school starts… Well, I think I can manage it.**

**I have to thank you all of the reviews I've gotten! They made me smile. :3 **

Second chapter

Takumi didn't know why Misaki left in a hurry. He didn't even have time to say "bye" before she was in her own apartment. He spent thirty seconds by looking the door, but his staring session got interrupted by a loud beep. That was not his phone. He looked around, searching the source of the beep. After a while, he saw a phone in his couch. The phone seemed kind of old – it wasn't even a smartphone, which was a total shock for Takumi because he was used to see teenagers with those expensive things – and he the young man realized it was Misaki's phone. When he was reaching for the phone, it started ringing. Someone was calling for her. Takumi took the phone on his hand and read the name from the screen: _Tora_.

Should he answer? Without a second thought, he pressed a green button.

"Misaki's not available right now", was how he started the phone call.  
"Wait- what?! Who are you?" came an answer with a hint of annoyance. Takumi wanted to say "I'm Misaki's boyfriend" to see how that person would react… And it wouldn't be bad to be addressed as her boyfriend… But he didn't.  
"I'm Misaki's friend", he left the "boy" part behind.  
"A friend? You're not definitely not Aoi, so who are you?" Didn't Misaki have any other male friends?  
"Neighbor", the blond man with Misaki's phone answered in a monotonous voice.  
"Misaki doesn't- Ah, fuck it! I just want to know what you are doing with my girlfriend's phone and where she is", the other person had an annoyed voice, but Takumi didn't pay attention to it – he had something else in his mind.

Did that Tora boy call Misaki his girlfriend? Misaki didn't say anything about a boyfriend earlier when they were talking! But… When Takumi had found her from the beach, she was talking about someone. He tried to remember what she was saying to herself…

"Answer me!" the boy on the other side of line yelled. Takumi didn't even notice him.

_"I will show that idiot how bad thing he did when he made someone feel something like this… I will prove myself I don't need anyone – after all, I was doing well even when I didn't know him."_

Did they have a fight?

"Did you have a fight?" Takumi asked. Okay, it was blunt, but he wanted to know the answer…  
"That's not your business!" … but of course, he didn't get it.  
"I guess you're right… But when I think about what she said yesterday, I'm sure she's done with you."  
"What?! Did that bi-"

Takumi pressed the red button and sighed heavily. Great. Now he had a new problem to deal with. Of course the first person who he was interested in was taken by some rude teenager boy who called his own girlfriend bitch and acted like he owned that girl. Well, practically, he owned, but no, he didn't. He just had Misaki's attention, he didn't have her mind and body as his own.

He was not paying attention to the phone he was holding in his hand, and without noticing he pressed some buttons and opened a text messages. She had gotten over ten new messages. When Takumi realized he was barging to her private life, he knew it was wrong. But he got really curious, and couldn't control himself…

"She doesn't have to know. Thinking how she have ignored all these, I'm sure she doesn't even know they exist. I can just delete them or something…", he mumbled and lowered his gaze to the screen. Every message was from that rude teen, Tora.

_Don't act like a spoiled kid! You have to answer me. We need to talk.  
\- Tora_

That boy seemed to be bossy and annoying. First, calling her by names, and then, telling her what to do. That idiot had nerves! Takumi felt annoyed, but somehow kind of happy because if that Tora was really an idiot, it would be really easy for Takumi to make Misaki fall head over heels to him… Yeah, Takumi had always been selfish.

If he wanted something – what was really rarely – he did everything to get it. He didn't give up on anything.__

_That girl was nothing. I don't have any feelings for her. You're the only one for me.  
\- Tora_

So that was the reason for their fight… Misaki had seen the idiot with some other girl and had ran to the beach, where she was trying to comfort herself with making better plans for future-

So that was what she was talking about! Or rather, that was the reason she was talking about those things! She was talking about not letting anyone in and something like that. And that was the reason she ran away today after talking a lot about herself! So he hadn't done anything wrong… Wait, why was he thinking about himself right now? He should think about something else.

A sudden ring from the door woke Takumi up from his deep thoughts and he nearly dropped Misaki's phone to the floor. He recovered quickly, put the phone on the table in front of his couch, stood up and almost ran to the door.

Misaki.

She looked a little embarrassed – probably because of her earlier escape – when she raised her eyes to look straight to the Takumi's owns. She was biting her lower lip, and she looked really adorable. Takumi wanted to make an album of all Misaki's cute expressions, so he could adore her even when she wasn't standing in the same room with him. Sounds little obsessed, right? She was just too cute for her own good. Those big eyes, which showed her every emotion, were the mirror to her soul, and her easily reddening cheeks looked as soft as… well, something soft. Pillows? They weren't as big as pillows… Cotton candy? But her cheeks didn't look tacky...

"I left my phone here." She didn't have any emotions in her voice. It was as she was a robot.  
"Yeah, I noticed it. Your… boyfriend called", Takumi answered, wanting to know how she would react to the world boyfriend.

And she didn't disappoint him. Her face grew red with anger and her eyebrow started twitching. She tried to fight against an outburst, it was clear. But still, she looked really cute. Or rather, she looked even cuter. Angry Misaki was something really adorable… too. Takumi had a sudden urge to kiss her, and after that, demand an explanation, but he didn't have the rights to do it.

"I will kill that idiot… I will feed him to sharks and- No, I want to be the one to kill him… ", he heard Misaki mumbling to herself about ways to kill her (ex-)boyfriend. Takumi was amazed about her violent imagination, but couldn't help but chuckle a little bit. She was really different.  
"No, I don't want to kill him… I will be satisfied when he has a meaningless life and… ", by every word, her voice grew louder and louder, until she was yelling, "I WON'T FORGIVE HIM! I DON'T EVEN CARE!"

After that, they both fell silent. Takumi was trying not to laugh, and Misaki was trying to control her anger. She had clenched her hands into fists and her long nails had drilled to her hands, making them bleed a little, and when she realized it, she put her hands to her pockets. After a few minutes, she was blushing. She had just had an outburst in front of her new – handso- wait, what? – neighbor, and it was one of the ones when she was almost trying to kill someone.

Takumi, on the other hand, thought it was somehow cute and… sexy. He had never seen anyone as angry as that, especially not a young girl. Was it wrong to think something like that about a teenager? But he was only about three years older than Misaki… No, he decided, it was not wrong.

"Are you calmed now?" he asked with a smirk. He made Misaki blush even more.  
"Yes… Can I have my phone back?"  
"Are you going to call back to him?" Takumi asked. That made her eyebrow twitch.  
"No."  
"Why not?"  
"He- wait, I don't have to answer that question. Just give me my phone back, please."

They fell silent for a while, again, but Takumi didn't make an effort to move to bring her phone back. Misaki opened her mouth to say something – probably something rude – but he talked first.  
"Talking helps."  
"What do you mean?"  
"You are angry and probably a little sad, I see it even though I don't know what thappened", he felt bad because of lying, but he kept talking, "Shouldn't you talk to someone? It really helps." He didn't want to get caught of reading messages from her phone, because he knew it was wrong.  
"I don't want to be sad because of him."  
"That's the reason why you have to talk to someone."  
"I don't like talking about my feelings, especially to someone who is almost a stranger to me", she said, avoiding his eyes. She was in the edge of screaming and crying, again. Misaki really wanted to let it all out, but she tried to keep it all in. Takumi didn't like the sentence she said (the part where she called him a stranger was not nice) but tried not to be offended because of it. After all, it was the truth. He observed the girl's face for a few seconds, thinking what to say next.  
"It really helps", no, Takumi was not a really talkative person, but still, usually he knew what to say. He was distracted by water, what she was trying not to let out of her eyes. She was almost crying. As an answer to Takumi, Misaki only shook her head. She didn't rely on her voice right now. She was sure she would start sobbing if she would open her mouth to say something.

Why the hell was she like this right now? It wasn't like her at all. She didn't cry easily. She was hurt, yes, but she didn't usually cry because of it. She felt betrayed – that was what she was. Her own boyfriend had been with someone else, looking like the happiest person alive while kissing the other girl. Misaki was mad at him, really mad. She wanted to reveal every secret he had to everyone in the word, she wanted to beat him to the condition when he had to spend weeks in hospital, she wanted to ruin his life, but at the same time, she didn't. She didn't want to go that low. She wasn't that stupid, mean or selfish. She wanted to tell him how much he had hurt her, and how he shouldn't do it to anyone else. Because it really hurt… Or maybe she was just too emotional right now. Maybe it was her time of the month… ? No, probably not.

Misaki didn't realize she was crying before she felt Takumi's warm thumbs on her cheeks, brushing the tears away. She looked away from him, biting her lower lip, again, really hard.  
"Misaki…" his low, calming voice mumbled when he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her. She pressed her face against his chest and tried to control her body, what was trembling lightly. Her salty tears wet his t-shirt, but he didn't care about it. Takumi smoothed her back, trying to calm her down.

He felt her spine through her sweatshirt. She was really skinny, and Takumi was sure she was underweight. She felt so fragile and right now she was really vulnerable. She was hurt, and he knew it. She in his embrace was a proof of it. Takumi was a little happy about how he knew she wouldn't be going back to Tora (and he was mad for himself because of thinking so selfishly), but angry to the idiot for making Misaki this sad. He was more the latter. Angry. Who could hurt a girl like her? Okay, Takumi didn't know Misaki well – yet – but he knew she was a good person with good intentions and short temper.

They stood there a long time. Slowly, Misaki's body stopped trembling, but she didn't move from his embrace. His strong hands gave her a safe feeling when they were wrapped around her small body, and it really calmed her.

After thirty minutes, Misaki stepped away from him. At first, she tried to avoid eye contact, but then she realized that she had to thank (and apologize) him and when she thanked someone, she looked straight to the person's eyes. Her eyes were puffy because of crying and her face was red because of crying and embarrassment, when she looked to his emerald green eyes.

"I'm sorry... I don't usually cry easily. Thank you for soothing me", she said, trying to speak clearly. She wanted to hide her face from him – she was sure it looked horrible, so she raised a hand to cover lower half of her face and she lowered her gaze back to the floor so her bangs hid her eyes. Takumi smiled tenderly and without saying anything, walked to his apartment, leaving the door open. He knew Misaki would follow him inside.

Misaki felt at ease around Takumi. It was easy to talk to him, and she had to admit that he was good company. He enjoyed Misaki's presence and felt something warm in his chest every time their eyes met. They spent an hour talking about things that didn't even have anything to do with them, when Misaki realized she had her job to go today. Her shift was starting at 5:15PM, and it was 4:31PM now.

"I need to go now", she said as she stood up and remembered to take her phone.  
"Where are you going? You don't have to study in vacation, don't you?" Takumi asked, raising his eyebrows.  
"I… I have a part-time job", she answered hesitantly – she didn't want to tell what she did as her job.  
"Where do you work?"  
_Fuck.  
_"In a nice little café. Now, if you excuse me, I'm in hurry", she mumbled the first sentence and walked to Takumi's apartment's door, but before stepping out, she turned to see Takumi and smiled friendly to him.  
"I guess we'll meet soon again."

Misaki hurried to her apartment, grabbed her stuffs she needed at work and ran to Maid Latte. It took twenty minutes to there if she walked, and if she ran, it took less than ten minutes. People gave her odd looks when she ran past everyone faster than the ones in Olympics, but she didn't care about it at all. She wasn't late from work; she never was.

Quickly, she put her maid costume on and brushed her hair – it had gotten messy because of running. After that she glanced the clock and realized she had over ten minutes before her shift would start. She sighed heavily and waited for her fellow workers.

For her surprise, Aoi was the (first) one who walked to the staff's room. He wasn't even a part of staff, he was just Satsuki's nephew.

"Tora's here. He asked me not to tell you, so I realized I should tell you", he said. Aoi was a good friend for Misaki. He always helped her and even gave some advices to her about relationships, even though he despised Tora for some reason.  
"Thank you", Misaki answered, forcing a little smile on her face. Aoi noticed the forced smile immediately.  
"Did you guys have a fight or something? Are you okay?"  
"I'll tell you later", she answered and stood up, "my shift starts soon."

She decided to treat Tora like every other costumer they had. She wouldn't snap in front of him or in front of anyone for a second time today. She would just ignore his every attempt to talk to her about personal things, and if he did something improper, she would kick him out of this place.

Sighing, she walked out of the staff's room and headed to the table where Tora was sitting. He was looking out of a big window, looking confident. What did he have in his mind?

"Good afternoon, Master. What would you like to drink?" she asked with a forced smile. She looked uncomfortable, but she knew Tora didn't care. If she was in an anime, vein on her forehead would be throbbing. She wasn't, but she felt the throbbing.  
"We need to talk", he answered in cold voice, not turning to see Misaki's face. He kept watching out of the window.  
"That's not in the menu. Please, order something else, Master."  
"No, I want to talk to you."  
"You are doing it right now", she said, gritting her teeth.  
"About some important matters", he said and turned to face her.  
"That's something I don't want to do. Now, tell me what you want to order or go away", she forgot how to be polite. She wanted to punch that face of his really hard, because even watching him made her almost cry, but it was something she was not going to admit to him.  
"That is not the right way to talk to your Master", he answered, a hint of annoyance in his voice. Misaki's blood started boiling. She clenched her hands into fists and tried not to punch his handsome face.  
"Excuse me", she mumbled and turned to walk away from Tora before doing something she would regret, but was stopped by a hold on her wrist.

She had to bite her lower lip really hard when she was resisting the urge to hit his ex. She tasted blood in her mouth – she bit her lip too hard – and felt her nails drilling to her palms. Misaki didn't turn her head to see Tora's grinning face, when she opened her mouth.

"See you behind the café after my shift. You know when it ends."


	4. Chapter 3

**Sorry, this chapter is poor. I was in a loss of ideas, and this is what I ended up writing…**

Third chapter

Misaki didn't want her shift to end. She didn't want to face Tora, because she knew she would get mad or start crying. And she didn't want to cry in front of someone, especially not in front of Tora. He was the reason she cried earlier today. And when she cried, Takumi saw her and he soothed her!

Misaki felt a heat on her cheeks when she thought of the embrace he gave to her when she was crying. Takumi's arms felt so safe and strong, and she just wanted to stay in them instead of stepping away. He had smelled so good, his scent was really- Wait, Misaki, why are you thinking things these kind of things? First, he did not smell good, and second, she did not enjoy being in his arms. She was just really weak and didn't know what to do when she started crying, so she accidentally just pressed her face against his muscular chest… Right?

Now, she had to focus on the main thing: Tora. Tora the idiot, Tora Igarashi, someone who made her blood boil only with a single movement. Had Misaki ever hated anyone? She had never liked males, but now she knew what it felt like to hate someone… and at the same time, love the person. Or maybe she didn't even love him. Maybe it was just a crush, a big one. Or maybe her every romantic feeling towards Tora disappeared when she saw him with someone else? It was possible.

"Misaki, your shift is already over", Satsuki, Misaki's boss, said, giving her a friendly smile. Misaki nodded.  
"Yeah… See you tomorrow", she answered, smiling a little. This time her smile wasn't forced, but it had some worry in it. Sighing, Misaki went to change and she did it as slow as possible, making Tora wait her. When she had changed, she walked to the backdoor, took a deep breath and stepped out.

"You're late", Tora said. He sounded a little angry, what gave Misaki a lot of satisfaction.  
"I was kind of hoping you would get bored and leave", she answered with an expressionless face. They stared at each other for twenty seconds, waiting for each other to blink. Tora shook his head and they both started blinking.

"I give you one minute to tell me your excuses, and after that, you either let me walk away happily or I punch you like I did yesterday and walk away even happier. I would like to do the latter, but it's up to you. I'll respect your choice", Misaki said, a hint of annoyance in her voice. Even his presence made her angry. But did she just say "yesterday"? It didn't feel like it at all. So she met Takumi yesterday, and today she was crying against his chest… Oh, that's really embarrassing.  
"You know I'm good in judo", Tora mumbled, not accepting her fighting abilities.  
"You know I've been learning judo. Now start talking or leave." Tora sighed, he was annoyed, too, but right now, this moment was only one when he was able to save their relationship.

"Nanami and I were just having fun yesterday, there was no feelings in it… Or at least I don't have anything towards her", he started and a little grin crept to his face, "You just don't have time for me enough, so I need someone-" He got cut off by a horrible pain in his left cheek. Misaki had slapped him with all her might, and she was sure it hurt a lot. Her face showed how angry she was.

"You bastard! How dare you?!" she yelled while trying to keep her tears away from her cheeks, "First of all, you are blaming on me about this?! You fucking idiot! We saw each other almost every day!" it was really hard, "you were only having fun with a girl who likes you! You idiot! How can you play with other people's feelings like that?! Don't you… don't you know… how much it hurts?" the last sentence was only a whisper. Her tears were flowing down her cheeks again.

Tora was puzzled about the thing she was being angry about. She wasn't yelling to him because he had been with someone else, she was angry because he had been with a girl who he didn't like. Well, it was not unexpected from Misaki, the girl who didn't think about herself too much. She had always been the good one from the couple. While Tora cared only about himself and Misaki, she was always thinking about others at first, even in the littlest things. He was speechless, when he noticed the tears flowing down her cheeks. He had seen Misaki crying only once before, and it was when she was talking about her family (mostly about her dead father).

"You know what, Tora?", she didn't wait for an answer, "Earlier today, I was thinking about what should I do about you; should I just let my anger out and kill you or should I tell you not to do this to anyone else who is able to love and accept you even when that person knows how idiot you can be, but now… Now I think you don't deserve anyone before knowing how much things like playing with other people's feelings can hurt them." She didn't brush her tears away while looking at Tora with eyes full of different feelings.

Tora had many feelings in his eyes too. Sadness, yes, a lot. Pain, yes, even more. Anger, yes, the most. Nobody talked to him like that. Never had, never will. This was not an exception. Misaki could not talk to him like that. She was a poor, normal citizen who works in a café where everyone dresses up as a maid and has to keep smiling even if someone sexually harasses you. He was from one of the most powerful family in Japan, and he didn't listen words like that from the likes of her.

Before even knowing what happened, he raised his clenched fist on the air and tried to punch Misaki, who was now staring blankly to something, what was nowhere to be seen. She was deep in thoughts.

"Misaki! Watch out!"  
"Misaki!"

Tried.

Someone grabbed his wrist from the air, and the someone had blond hair and emerald green eyes which were looking him angrily.

Misaki had snapped out of her trance and what she saw in front of her was something unexpected. Takumi was holding Tora's wrist, looking at him with eyes filled of hatred. When she looked behind her, she saw Aoi and her fellow workers. They all had the same expressions on their faces; worry. Guilty filled her mind when she realized that they were worried because of her. About her. She shook the guiltiness away from her mind and turned back to the two male's direction, not knowing what to say. Still, she knew she had to say something.

"Takumi, what the hell are you doing here?" was what she said. Yeah, she didn't invent anything better. Takumi didn't even bother to answer to her, he was glaring Tora and thinking about different ways of killing him. It wasn't Takumi-like at all. Misaki's eyebrow twitched, and she forgot she was crying a few moments ago. She looked the two males for ten seconds and sighed heavily.

"Takumi, let go of him. Tora, get the fuck out of here. You-", she turned to see her friends who were watching the scene in front of them without blinking, "should go back inside. The clients are getting probably getting annoyed."

Takumi let go of Tora, hesitantly, and turned to see Misaki's face. It was expressionless, but anyone could tell she was holding many feelings inside. Tora glared Misaki and Takumi, but didn't make a move to go away. Misaki's fellow workers and Aoi disappeared back inside – they looked back many times and tried to say something, but Misaki shut them by a glare. She could make the whole town cry in fear when she was in the mood.

Takumi and Misaki turned to see Tora's angry face. He was still glaring the two who just turned to see him. They were clearly waiting for him to disappear, but he wasn't going to do that in a long time, and Misaki saw it from his stubborn (and annoying) face.

She didn't want to go to jail because of killing someone, so she turned on her heels and started walking away. She didn't look back, but she heard footsteps from behind her, and she knew it was Takumi. Tora stood behind, looking at the blond man who followed Misaki, too many thoughts fulling his head. Who the hell was that? What the fuck was he doing in there? And who was that person to Misaki?

Misaki was biting her lower lip the whole time she was walking toward the building her apartment was in. She knew Takumi was following her – of course, they lived in the same building – and she didn't want him to see her face like that, again. She walked as fast as she was able, trying not to look like she was avoiding the man who was trailing behind her.

When the couple reached the building they stepped to the elevator with saying no words to each other. Takumi wanted to say something, but he wanted her to speak at first. Unfortunately, Misaki was mute for the whole time they stood in the elevator, her avoiding his eyes as she looked down. The blond one was saying something when the elevator's doors opened and Misaki stepped out of it. Quickly, she took her keys from her bag and opened her apartments door and slipped inside without even saying "good bye".

Misaki didn't allow herself to cry. Instead, she filled her head with thoughts of school and started studying things beforehand. Studying always chased the other, unnecessary things away from her head, so she believed it would do it this time, too. Even if it was hard at first, it really helped. It cleaned her foggy mind, and she almost forgot everything what happened earlier that day. After studying for a few hours, the dark-brown haired girl fell asleep.

_Misaki was sitting alone in the language classroom, waiting for something. That something was someone. She didn't know who, but when she thought about that person, her cheeks turned red and she felt bubbly inside. It was an embarrassing feeling, but for some reason, it felt nice._

_When she heard footsteps getting closer to the door, she took a better position and turned her head to see who stepped inside the room. When she saw the person's face, her heart started beating faster and she couldn't tear her brown eyes away from his beautiful green ones. For twenty seconds, they were just staring each other, but when she realized, what was happening, she turned her head away and felt the blush creep into her cheeks. He was smirking. Oh, how embarrassing!_

_He walked closer to her and stopped right in front of her – they only had a little gap between them. He lifted her chin up and looked straight into her eyes with an intense gaze, as if wanting to say something important, yet forbidden. Misaki tried not to look back to his eyes, but it was hard not to because he kept her head up with a few fingers under her chin. His smirk had turned into a tender – yet small – smile._

_"What?" she asked in embarrassment, feeling the heat in her cheeks getting even worse. She tried to turn her head to look somewhere else, but was immediately stopped because of the hands cupping her face. He was leaning closer…_

Misaki's eyes opened wide. She stared in front of her for almost a minute, blinked twice and after that, she shook her head and bit her lip.

"Why the hell did I have a dream like that of him?" she mumbled and thought about what she had just said, "Or rather, it was a nightmare." She couldn't help but blush while thinking about that dre- nightmare, and she felt angry for herself because of that.

It's not like she liked him or anything. It was probably because he had been so nice to her even though the first time they met she was talking to herself, and the second time they met she ran away and came back, started crying and actually hugged him. Not mentioning the third time, when he came near to the Maid Latte and saved her from getting punched by her Tora… OH FUCK! Did he know where she was working? Hopefully not…

Misaki decided to study more to forget the disturbing thoughts of Takumi before heading to her part-time work, so she grabbed her school books and started reading and writing notes of the things she was reading of. The time flew – she actually enjoyed studying – and before she even realized it, she was almost late from her schedule. She had to run to work – again.

When she arrived to Maid Latte, her fellow workers gave her worried looks and started asking questions about Tora, their relationship and the fight. The only one, who remembered Takumi, was Aoi.

"Hey, Misaki, who was the blond man who saved you from getting punched?" he asked, raising his eyebrows. Everyone turned to see him and after thinking for a few seconds, everyone was nodding with him and Subaru raised her eyebrows like Aoi.  
"Oh, he was my neighbor", she answered, trying not to think about the dream she had of him last night.  
"A neighbor? Just a neighbor? Not even a close friend of yours?" To that, Misaki raised her eyebrows, waiting for an explanation. What was the weird thing in being her neighbor?  
"He looked like he was going to kill Tora for trying to punch you. Of course, we wanted to kill him, too, but that guy… if he's just a neighbor, why did he seem to care so much?"

Misaki blinked a few times. Actually, why had he ever been there? Why had he been near to Maid Latte? Did he have things to do near to the café or was he… was he following her? No, of course not. She shook her head.  
"You were probably imagining things", she answered and turned away to walk to greet her clients.

"Welcome back, Master!" she said while bowing and forced a sweet smile on her face. When she rose up and straightened her spine, she saw Takumi's blond hair and emerald green eyes. They stared at each other for a few seconds, until he burst out laughing. Misaki was dying in embarrassment, when she led the laughing man to table and pulled his seat back so he could sit down.

Fuck, fuck, fuck! How did he end up here? He probably got to know it yesterday, when she was talking to her fellow workers who were having their maid costumes on… and well, it everything happened almost in front of the Maid Latte's backdoor. What if he tells someone? Wait, why would he tell someone? He doesn't seem to hate her like almost every other male does.

"What are you doing here?" she asked in low voice, not wanting anyone else than him to hear.  
"Awwww, I just wanted to know how you work", he answered with an innocent face, but Misaki saw through it.  
"How did you even know where I work?" she sighed. She was trying hard not to yell.  
"I followed you yesterday, remember?"

She froze. So he followed her? Why the hell did he do that? She didn't know what to say, but it was clear she wanted to know why, so Takumi decided to continue after enjoying the startled expression on her face. It was cute, too. She was blinking furiously.

"I followed you because you didn't tell me where you work. You just said you work in a café, so I thought I should find out by myself." He had the innocent expression on his face. Misaki's eyebrow twitched.  
"Why do you even care?" she asked, a hint of annoyance on her voice.  
"I want to get to know you", he answered, now smirking. In Misaki's opinion, he looked like a pervert. A handsome pervert. Oh fuck, what was she thinking about?

She was speechless – again – and was staring him eyes wide open for a minute, until Takumi cleared his throat as a reminder of him being there and waiting for the waitress to ask what he wants to order. Misaki blushed slightly, and she tried to cover it by looking down to her notepad where she always wrote the orders.

"What would you like to have?" she asked in a confident – yet a little distant – voice, not looking at him.  
"Only a coffee, please", he answered. Misaki nodded and turned on her heels, disappearing to the staff's room, only to be attacked by her friends.

"Oh my God, isn't that hottie the man from yesterday?" Erika asked with a huge grin on her face.  
"He's good-looking", Subaru was nodding with Erika. She was smirking. Honoka didn't say anything, but she was looking at Takumi and adoring his good looks. Satsuki's eyes were replaced by hearts. She was mumbling something and everyone could swear she had moe flowers flying around her. Misaki ignored everyone and went back to her work.

When Misaki's shift was over and she stepped out from the Maid Latte's backdoor, she saw Takumi, leaning to the brickwall. Some way, she felt a little happy to know someone was waiting for her but there was no way she would tell it to him. After all, she didn't need anyone to wait.

"What are you doing in here?" she asked, already knowing the answer.  
"Waiting for you."  
"Why?"  
"I thought we could walk home together."

She couldn't help but smile.

**I just want to write about Misaki's and Takumi's moments together and something like that, but I guess it's too early for that… They have known each other for a few days only… :( Wäääh.**


	5. Chapter 4

**Please, read and review! Reviews make me always happy. :3**

Fourth chapter

Time flew (well, not really, only one week passed). Misaki and Takumi spent time together… a lot. At first they just bumped into each other while going to the grocery store, but then they started going there together intentionally. They ate together (Misaki didn't know how to cook, remember?) at Takumi's apartment when she didn't have work, and sometimes, they watched movies together from his computer. Takumi visited Maid Latte many times, and it made Misaki wonder about his life; what did he do? Didn't he have any other friends or why did he spend time with a girl who got angry easily and was ready to beat life out of him if he did something bad? Did he do anything except spent time with her?

No, she wasn't complaining. There were times when she really enjoyed his company (even though she wouldn't admit it to anyone). Yes, Takumi was really annoying when he wanted to. Sometimes, he said something really perverted, and for some odd reason, he made her blush and look like a tomato. But still, he was really helpful, funny and good company. He had helped her with her studies – which made her wonder about him even more (who can really remember everything about everything after years?) – and helped her with some summer homework. Takumi was smart, so their conversations were long and usually about some pretty deep things like religions, life after death and things like those.

So, those were the reasons why Misaki found herself from Takumi's apartment, again. They had just eaten their lunch – made by Takumi – and now they were just sitting in a comfortable silence. Misaki didn't want to break it, but she still did, because she had a question about his lack of furniture.

"Why don't you have a bed?"  
"Why do you ask?" he smirked.  
"Just wondering… "  
"Should I get one? Then we could sleep together", he had a huge grin on his face.

Misaki tried to fight against a blush – she didn't know why she was blushing. Was it because of that made her embarrassed or was it because she was angry… ?

"P-pervert!"

He had to keep a poker face on, but as you can believe, it was hard.

"I'm pretty sure you are the pervert here, Misaki. I was just talking about something as innocent as closing your eyes and dreaming", he said, smirking, "but if you want, we can do the thing what you were thinking about." Takumi watched how her face turned red – from embarrassment, he knew – and couldn't help but chuckle to that. Misaki punched him on his chest, and was surprised of how muscular it felt. Biting her lower lip, she turned her head away so he couldn't see her blush getting even worse.

The silence came back. Misaki was still looking away from him, and Takumi was trying to get even a glance of her face.

Takumi enjoyed her company, and he was sure she liked spending time with him, too. He loved to see her different expressions and that was the reason why he teased her so much. She was smart – smarter than the other girls in her age – and she had always her own opinions about things. Some of them were stronger, but she always had ones. He was sure she didn't give up on anything, and seeing how hard she studied and worked made him like her even more.

He was almost aware of his feelings towards her. Takumi didn't know what it was; was it just a really big crush or was it even love? After all, they had known each other for nine days. It wasn't a long time, and he didn't know if it was even possible to fall in love in such a short time.

"But really, why don't you have a bed?" Misaki's curious voice woke him up from his thoughts, "And don't even try to say anything... ", she didn't want to continue.  
"Pervert?" he grinned.  
"Are you reading my mind? Perverted outer-space alien… ", she mumbled. Takumi chuckled, again.  
"What a nice name for me."  
"Shut up! Just answer my ques-", something flashed in her mind, "oh, sorry, I didn't realize it was a private thing… "

Takumi stared at her for a few seconds, but then, he burst out laughing. Misaki raised her eyebrows, wanting to know why he was laughing.

"Why do you think that the reason for not having a bed is a private thing?" he asked, trying not to laugh again.  
"Well, you seemed like you didn't want to answer my question." She was a little irritated.  
"No, it's nothing private. I don't need a bed, my couch is enough for me."

Misaki turned her head to look out. Takumi's apartment's window was as huge as hers – it was almost the same size as walls – but the view from his window was better than hers. From his window, she saw the city, and she really liked looking at it. It was raining outside, and it made her happy. Sometimes, the sound of rain made her nervous, but right now, it had a calming effect. She travelled back to her childhood times in her mind while looking how the raindrops wet the town and the people walking in the streets. She couldn't wait for getting outside by herself; she loved being in the rain. She loved the smell of the rain. Well, she just loved the rain.

When she had just seen Tora with the girl he didn't even like, it started raining. The sky had cried with her – even though she had at first been a little angry. She knew the sky wasn't a person, but it was nice to think like that. When the sky cried, she felt like crying, too. Misaki didn't know why, but it sometimes really brought the tears to her eyes.

"I want to go out", she didn't even realize she said it out loud before feeling someone's hand on her own and she was getting dragged towards the door. "Wha- what?" she managed to ask.  
"We are going out", he answered with a small smile on his face. She just shrugged her shoulders and put her shoes on.

When they stepped out of the building, Misaki turned into a little child… or at least she started acting like a little child. It was adorable, and again, Takumi just wanted to take pictures of her happy face while running in the rain. She enjoyed the cold raindrops on her warm skin, and because she wanted to get even better in touch with the rain, she took her shoes off and rolled her sweatpants up.

For a moment, Takumi thought she had forgotten his presence.

"Takumi, come with me! This is really, really fun!"

Clearly not.

They spent thirty minutes running around in the rain, gaining weird looks from the people who walked by. At some point, they left the building's backyard and their shoes and Takumi started chasing her (they got even more looks from strangers; it may look a little strange when two grown-ups play tag in the rain and run in the streets without shoes). When they stopped running to breathe, they found themselves from the beach where they first met. They sat on the sand and tried to catch their breaths.

Takumi liked this childish side of Misaki, too. He didn't know which he liked more; the hard-working studyworm who liked talking about deep things or the childish and care-free Misaki who ran in the rain without shoes and laughed when someone gave her a reproachful look. Truth to be told, he liked both of them – a lot.

He turned his head to see Misaki. She looked like she just came from shower, where she went with clothes on. Water was dripping from her hair to her face and to her shoulders. Her tank top was wet – thank God it was black so anyone couldn't see through it – and so was her pants. She had a happy smile on her face, and he realized how much prettier she looked with a smile on her face – and imagine, how beautiful she was with a true smile. Many times he had seen her fake a smile, but right now it was natural.

"Thank you", she said. She didn't turn her head to see his face, because she was too busy adoring the wild sea.  
"For what?" Takumi asked, looking at her peaceful yet happy expression.  
"For making me have the best time of my life."  
"You're welcome."

She kept watching the sea, and he kept watching her. He tried to put everything of her in his memory, because he knew he wouldn't be able to see her all the time and well, she probably wouldn't let him take photos of her. The things he wanted to remember of her appearance the best were her big amber eyes. Right now they seemed to have a happy sparkle in them, though he probably just imagined it. Eyes don't sparkle if there's no light what could reflect in them.

It was still raining and when they were on the beach, the wind blew harder than in town, so it was not a miracle to see Misaki shiver a little.

"Are you cold?" She glanced at him.  
"No." She shivered again.  
"Really?"  
"Well… Maybe a little… "  
"We should go back", he said and stood up. Before taking any steps, she grabbed his wrist. Takumi raised his eyebrows like asking "what?".  
"I don't want to go back yet", she mumbled, looking like a little child.

He sighed as he sat back down right next to her. Their thighs touched each other, and she tried hardly to ignore that fact, but when he put his strong arm around her she had to say something.  
"What are you doing?" she asked, eyes narrowed.  
"You are feeling cold and you don't want to go home, so I'm just trying to make you warm", he said, but she didn't stop glaring at him, "You don't want to get sick before school starts, right?" He was aware of the blush on her cheeks, but didn't say anything about it (even though the temptation was horrible). She turned to see the sea.

Again, Misaki felt safe with him. She wasn't feeling cold anymore, because his arm was warm and it felt nice when it was around her. Almost sleepy… Yes, sleepy, indeed. Without even knowing what she did, she leaned her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes. In a matter of seconds she was asleep.

_"We want ice cream", the little Misaki said. She was grinning from ear to ear and she had a hopeful look in her eyes, when she stood in front of her parents with her little sister, Suzuna, who was nodding crazily.  
"We don't have any", Minako, their mother, answered with a soft smile. The girls turned to Sakuya.  
"Daddy", Suzuna started and Misaki continued, "can we please go and buy some ice cream?"_

_Quickly, he glanced at her wife, who just shrugged her shoulders like saying "whatever, it's your choice" and gave him a sweet smile. Sakuya turned to Misaki and Suzuna, eyed them for a while and then, he sighed heavily and nodded. The sisters shared sly smiles and started screaming something like "yay!"._

_"Daddy's the best!" Misaki said as she gave her little hand to her dad. Suzuna did the same thing, and they started walking towards an ice cream kiosk.  
"What about mom?" the younger girl asked.  
"Well… ", Misaki invented, "mom is even bester!" Sakuya started to laugh for her little girls and Misaki's word "bester"._

_Their way to the ice cream kiosk didn't take long, and once they got there, they bought chocolate ice creams for everyone (excluding Minako, who didn't even go to the kiosk with them)._

_On their way back home, it started raining. Misaki stayed as happy as before – or maybe she became even happier – but Suzuna didn't like the rain, so she tried to hide behind his father (even though the raindrops were coming from the sky). Sakuya decided to carry her back home, so-_

"Misaki, as much as I hate to wake you up, but we need to go back", Takumi's soft voice interrupted her dreams.  
"Umm… Uh?" she mumbled as she stirred. She was feeling so nice and warm now, so she just wanted to drift back to sleep… Until she realized why she was feeling so nice and warm. She was leaning on his chest and she had somehow ended up to sleep on his lap.

She almost jumped away from him. She was blushing furiously – he had never seen her blush that hard – and he… well, let's just say he looked very pleased while smirking, but while looking away and trying to hide her blush, she didn't see it.

"I… I'm sorry… ", Misaki mumbled and stood up. She tamped the sand off from her pants started walking away, being too ashamed to look at him. He followed her and without letting her notice, he was almost touching her.  
"For what?" he whispered to her ear. His lips almost touched her and she felt his breath and it made her shiver and blush even harder.  
"F-for… Whatever… ", she kept mumbling and hid her face from him. Takumi found her expression really cute, and he couldn't help but smirk. He knew that teasing Misaki was funny, but this was even funnier than he could've imagined! And he enjoyed her expressions. A lot.

Though it's hard to believe that she still gets embarrassed about something so small, because she was dating a teenager boy and knowing teenagers, they aren't really innocent. Well, Takumi doesn't mind. He liked the easy-to-tease Ayuzawa. She was cute.

Their way back to the building where they both lived was quiet. Misaki liked the cold and wet ground under her bare feet and she enjoyed when the chilly wind started playing with her dark brown hair (it made her feel like a heroine from some stupid movie). She was still blushing when they arrived to the building, but she fought hard to get over the blush. Takumi just watched her – all the way from the beach to the building. They took their shoes back – they were wet, too – and decided not to wear them.

They stepped into the elevator and Takumi pressed the eighth button. There was a silence between them – it wasn't awkward, but it wasn't comfortable, either. It just was the silence when nobody had anything to say. Misaki glanced at him when she thought he didn't notice (still, he did) and Takumi eyed her almost all the time.

"Why are you looking at me?" she asked and felt like growling. Why? She had no idea.  
"I like looking at beautiful things", he answered smiling, and earned a punch to shoulder from her.  
"Shut up", she mumbled and watched how the doors opened. They stepped out at the same time and went to their own apartments' doors.  
"Bye", she mumbled and went to her own apartment. Takumi only nodded to her, even though he knew she couldn't see it.

Misaki sat on the floor, her back against the wall. She had to take her wet clothes off and take a hot shower, but… She also knew she had to think about the things that happened that day; how they had fun while running in the rain and how she unintentionally slept on his lap. Even thinking about it made her blush…

Why did her heart faster than usual when she was near him? Why did she feel all bubbly inside her stomach when he was next to her? Of course she knew that they were signs of having a crush… But she rejected that option even before thinking about it. There was no way she could have a crush on someone. And especially not when that someone was three years older (well, that was not the problem…) man who was a total pervert and probably a womanizer. Yes, he was funny. Yes, he was handsome. Yes, he was good cook (IMPORTANT!). Yes, he was good company. Yes… She didn't want to continue the list. But still, Takumi was pretty awesome. Too awesome… ?

Misaki shook her head to chase the thoughts of him away from her head. Slowly, she stood up and walked to her bathroom. She had to take a warm shower or she would become sick, and that was something she didn't want to. She stripped out of her wet clothes and stepped under the warm shower, enjoyed of the heat and let her body relax. She really liked showering, but she liked the rain even more.

After showering, she wore her underpants and a really big t-shirt (which was Aoi's old… she stole it from him when he was trying to put it to crash). Then she decided to eat some chocolate while studying, so she took an chocolate bar from the fridge (she didn't want it to melt) and lay down to the floor with her school books.

"Umm… What now… How about… Science?"

She studied for a long time until she fell asleep on the floor.

**Sorry, this chapter is shorter than the ones before and I really didn't pay a lot attention to what I was writing. Also, it will probably take a long time until I get the next chapter here; my school starts tomorrow.**


	6. Chapter 5

**Sorry, it took me a LONG time to write this… School's making me busy and exhausted and my mind is, as always, blank. And well, MY LAPTOP DECIDED TO BE A JACKASS, so it doesn't work as well as it used to work.**

**Thank you for your reviews! I'm glad to hear you like this story.**

Fifth chapter

The sky was not blue; it was pinkish because of the setting sun what was casting shadows on the busy city. The clouds looked like cotton candy and made Misaki feel a little sleepy when she thought about how soft they were (yeah, they weren't probably even as soft as she thought) as she watched the beautiful sky above the busy, dirty city.

Misaki's mind was filled of Takumi. She had had a dream of him last night and… well, she didn't want to see it again, so for the rest of the night she stayed awake, studying. Even though she remembered the dream every time she closed her eyes, she tried to think about something else. School, studies, Maid Latte, friends... But still…

Why was she feeling like she was bubbling inside when she was around him? Since when? That feeling was not new to her, but it had been a long time since she had felt like this. It was a warm – yet a little uncomfortable – feeling in her stomach. It was tingling. And why was her heart beating like drums in her ears when he touched her? Why was she so nervous while being with him? Why did she want to spend time more than necessary by looking at him, admiring his beauti- just stop it, Misaki!

Of course she knew what the tingling feeling on her stomach meant, but she didn't want to agree with it. She just wanted to blame her burning throat and the sickly feeling in her body of it. (Yes, she was feeling sick. Like, really, really sick, but she still had gone to work.)

Takumi and Misaki were walking home from Maid Latte in a comfortable silence. The girl seemed not to be in a mood of talking, so they both remained quiet. He was just eyeing her. She looked exhausted. Did she sleep at all? She had a worried expression on her pale face, and the dark half-moons under her eyes proved that she was in a lack of sleep.

Misaki coughed.

"Are you okay?" Takumi asked immediately.  
"Yes", she answered and tried to hide another cough. She didn't manage in it. The man raised his eyebrows.  
"No, you're not. That's clear."  
"Then, why did you even ask?" the brown-haired huffed, but soon after that, she sighed and forced a little smile on her face, "I'm totally fine." She coughed again, and she cursed her aching throat and the stupid cough what busted her mentally.

"You need to rest", the older one stated. His tone was demanding, but she ignored it.  
"I don't have time-"  
"You don't want to be sick when the school starts, don't you?" Misaki sighed in defeat.

She knew she wouldn't rest; she would just study or clean her apartment… maybe she should visit her family, too. She hadn't seen Minako and Suzuna in a while, and she really missed them.

Misaki coughed, again, and a few times after that. When they stepped inside the elevator, she had to lean against the wall and breath. Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale, cough, inhale… Shiver. Okay, she had to admit it, she was feeling sick. She had been feeling sick for the whole day; at work, she had even dropped a glass to the floor when her feet and hands had felt like jelly. She was tired, her breathing was heavy, her throat felt like it was on fire, she was cold and her vision was a little blurry. Not much. Only a little…

Unknown to Misaki, Takumi was eyeing her all the time. His emerald green eyes were full of worry, when he had to lean against the wall. Her breathing was raspy, and it made his worries increase. He tried not to look at her all the time, but he couldn't help it; he was afraid she would collapse to the floor and hit her head or something like that…

The elevator's doors opened, but Misaki didn't even seem to notice it. Takumi raised his eyebrows in worry. Was she really that sick? She didn't even hear the loud "ding!" when the elevator stopped moving…

"Misaki? We're here", he said and watched as she opened her eyes. When had she even closed them? She didn't realize she had closed her eyes. Her eyelids felt heavier than a sack of rocks and her vision was blurry. Fighting against the heavy eyelids, she walked clumsily out of the elevator and almost fell down when her legs got tangled together.

Takumi didn't want her to fall or walk straight to the wall, so he decided to carry her in. Even though they were almost in her apartment, he was afraid of letting her go in alone – who knows what could happen? She could hit her head and even die! Well, Takumi wasn't a person who fussed over the littlest things, but he really cared for her and didn't want her to get injured even by slightest way. And because of his decision, he lifted her to his hands and now, she was lying in his arms in a princess-style. He was waiting for protests, hits to his chest or kicks to his head, but instead, he watched how she snuggled closer to his warm body, gripped his t-shirt and closed her eyes. He had to smile; she was really cute (though she acted that way probably only because she was sick). Her deep, raspy exhales against his neck gave him sweet shivers, but he managed to ignore it while trying to find the keys to her house from her backpack. When he found them, he opened her apartment's door and stepped inside.

Of course, Takumi had been in her house a few times, but the sweet scent of her little apartment was something he couldn't get enough. She had the same scent as her apartment, but while being in there, he was able to sniff the lovely scent without looking like a creep.

He didn't have time to enjoy of the lovely scent or her body's warmth against his, because she was sick, and she really needed to lay down and eat something warm… He could make some soup while waiting for her to wake up.

Takumi spent next hour by making the soup. Her fridge was practically empty, so he had to go to his apartment and get some ingredients from there. After making the soup, he just sat on the floor, next to her bed, and watched as she slept. Her pink lips were parted so her warm breathing was heard, her face was really pale – almost as white as snow – and she had some sweatdrops on her forehead.

When Misaki woke up, the first thing she saw was Takumi and his fascinating emerald eyes. She mumbled something, rose up to a sitting position, rubbed her eyes with her clenched fists and well, looked adorable. She acted like a little child.

"Takumi?" she asked, not sounding like she usually did. Her voice was higher than normal and she sounded kind of cheerful, yet surprised. The man wondered why, but let it slide.  
"Yeah. You fell asleep on my arms", he waited for her to blush or hit him or something, but didn't get anything, "and I took care of you." Still, nothing. She just nodded and smiled sweetly.  
"Thank you."

Silence fell upon the two of them. Takumi was feeling somehow troubled – he didn't show it - but Misaki was smiling sweetly and humming some children's song. He furrowed his brows. Was she okay now? She wasn't acting like herself…

"Are you feeling better now?" he asked, and as an answer, she nodded, but almost immediately, she coughed a few times and after the coughs, she tried to catch her breath. His brows furrowed even more.  
"You need to rest more. Sleep", he ordered in a strict voice.  
"No." She glared at him.  
"Look, you –"  
"I DON'T WANT TO!" And after that, she started coughing. He leaned to pat her back.  
"Okay, you don't have to sleep anymore, but you have to change into something warmer and eat the soup I made for you."

After Misaki's coughing ended, she gave him a wide smile.  
"Okay, I'll change into something warmer and eat the soup you made."

Before he had even risen up from the floor, she was pulling her black tank top off. Takumi stared at her, wide-eyed, for a few seconds, before turning his head away. He was sure he was blushing, when rose up and hurried to the kitchen. Misaki watched how he almost ran away, blinked twice and walked to her closet to find something better to wear.

Takumi leaned against the wall what separated kitchen and the room where Misaki slept. He took a few deep breaths, closed his eyes and tried to get rid of the memory of her flawless, creamy skin and her well-built stomach… Well, as you can guess, it was impossible. The memory was fresh and he really wanted to peek to see her change, but after that thought slashed in his mind, he scolded himself mentally and smacked his forehead. For God's sake, he has other things to worry about! For example, Misaki was clearly sick and she was acting way different from normal. Just a minute ago, she was taking her clothes off in front of him! And somehow, whatever he thought about, he ended up to see the flashback of her pulling her tank top off.

When she walked to the kitchen, he was happy to see she was wearing an oversized sweatshirt and sweatpants - nothing to be too tempted about. They ate in silence – she managed to make him eat, too – and after Misaki had eaten half of the soup, she yawned.  
"Sleepy?" Takumi asked, and she shook her head. Still, she walked to her bed and almost immediately, she fell asleep.

Again, he watched as she slept. Her chest was rising and setting slowly, but her hands clenched into fists at some point and he heard how she mumbled something. He didn't catch what she was saying, but her voice was so broken that it hurt him to hear it. When he noticed a tear sliding down her face, he decided he had to do something.

Slowly, Takumi reached his hand to her and shook her slightly.  
"Misaki", he said in a soft voice. She stirred a little, but didn't wake up. He sighed, brushed the tears away from her cheeks and tried calling her name in louder voice. This time, she opened her eyes, but didn't even bother to look him in the eyes. Instead, she pulled him next to her to the bed and snuggled closer to him. He was surprised for a second, but let her snuggle closer to him and after thinking for a while, he put his arms around her little frame. He heard her sigh, and now, she was asleep, again. He allowed himself to smile at her peaceful expression on her face.

_"When are we going to see daddy again?" Suzuna asked from no-one, but got an answer from Minako, the girls' crying mother.  
"You won't see him ever again", she mumbled, not caring of how much confusion and sadness it woke on her daughters. Suzuna turned her head to see big sister, who was holding tears back. Misaki forced a smile on her face and patted her little sister's head. The older daughter had decided that she would stay strong for her family, and for herself. She was eleven years old, and she had lost her father a few weeks ago. His funeral was nearing the end, and Minako was crying, again._

_"Suzuna, go to see grandmother. She said she wanted to talk to you", Misaki sent her sister away, and turned her head to see her mother._

_"Mom", Misaki started and as an answer, her mother nodded, but didn't even turn to look at her, "Please, try to stay gathered around Suzuna. I don't want her to see you cry." When Minako didn't answer, she hugged her quickly and excused herself to the restroom, where she spent ten minutes by looking herself from mirror. She stared, promised herself not to cry, and splashed some water to her face._

_When she exited the restroom, she bumped into someone. She left the person without apologizing, but heard footsteps from behind her. She stopped walking and turned away get a better look of the person who was following her – the person turned out to be the one she had just bumped into. The person was a boy around her age with blond hair and brownish eyes. She didn't know who this person was, but he had to be a son of someone who knew her parents._

_"Are you following me?" Misaki asked, probably sounding really rude.  
"I wanted to get an apology from you", the boy said, and the answer meant "yeah, I was following you to get an apology and piss you off". Her eye twitched.  
"I wasn't the only one at fault", she said and continued walking._

_She wanted to get away from the annoying boy, who she had learned to hate at first sight, but the boy kept following her wherever she went for the next ten minutes. At some point, she was getting irritated, and she stopped walking – again – and turned to face the boy.  
"What is your problem?" she wasn't used to be as rude as she was now, but the boy had annoyed her when she was already a mess inside.  
"I told you, I want an apology", he answered. Oh, how can someone sound so arrogant?  
"You're not going to get one, so please, leave me alone."_

_The boy eyed her for a while, but decided to keep his mouth shut. He still followed her for a while, until she stopped, again. She was holding back the urge to yell and scream to the stupid boy who followed her around. When she opened her mouth, he cut her unsaid words by opening his own mouth._

_"I'm sorry about your lost. My name is Tora."  
"Look, you... Tora, stop following me around and making me irritated. You didn't even know my father, you probably just came here because your parents –"  
"Sakuya was a friend of my parents, but he was always nice to me and used to talk to me about his lovely daughters", he said, "which you don't seem to be." Misaki probably growled at him, because he seemed to be holding back a laugh._

_She felt offended and irritated, but it was good to know her father was nice even for idiots like Tora and well, she was happy to hear his father thought she was lovely. Still, the laughing boy in front of her made her want to shut him up, so she smacked him into head and after seeing the startled expression on his face, a laugh escaped from her mouth. She stuck her tongue out and ran away from him._

When Misaki woke up from her dream – or flashback – he felt the strong arms around her. Yes, _the_ strong arms, because she knew who owned them and she had been embraced and carried by them. A blush crept into her face when she raised her gaze only to meet his, and immediately, she struggled away from and managed to fall down to the cold floor. Takumi couldn't help but laugh as he offered a hand to help her stand up and she ignored it.

"Are you feeling okay now?" he asked and watched how she stood up.  
"Yes… ", she mumbled.

He started thinking about how she had acted a few hours ago – when she had first woken up, almost stripped in front of him, acted like a child and then, when she had been sleeping, she had cried a little and pulled him to next to her and snuggled closer to him. Well, the last one was a rather pleasant memory to him.

"You know, you were kind of weird earlier", he said, wanting to see her reaction. There was a possibility of her not remembering what she had done.

She remained quiet for a while. Now, when she thought about it, she remembered what she had done. Everything. She had almost taken her clothes off in front of him – he thanked Takumi mentally for hurrying to kitchen when she was stripping – and she had pulled him to sleep next to her. Misaki tried to hide her blush and pretend she didn't remember anything.

"Yeah… It's normal for me… to… to act like a little child while being sick", she mumbled and turned away.  
"I see. Do you remember what you did?" he asked, even though he knew she did remember.  
"N-no."  
"Really? How come you haven't asked about the position we were in when you woke up if you don't remember anything?" Takumi smirked.  
"Oh, shut up!" she walked to the kitchen and decided to drink orange juice – she had to have a motive to be in there.

He followed her to kitchen, and when she was pouring some juice to herself, he leaned closer to her ear.  
"I'm sure you remember", he whispered. His breath sent shivers through her spine and startled, she almost dropped the glass to the floor. Quickly, she backed away from him, and he couldn't help but smirk when he saw a blush on her cheeks. He was happy to see her blushing after looking her pale face earlier, but he was even happier of being the reason why she was blushing.

Misaki's heart was beating like drums in her ears, again. She could still feel his warm breath in her neck, and thinking about it didn't help or ease the tingling – oh fuck it, the feeling on her stomach almost made her puke – on her stomach. They were not butterflies, they were airplanes!

**I'm not happy with this chapter… Well, what is done is done, right?**

**There will probably be one or two chapters before they go to school.**

**And, well, I love reviews! Tell me what you would like to happen in the next chapter, and I'll try my best to make it happen!**


	7. Chapter 6

**Thank you for the reviews, followers and favorites! I hope you like this chapter.**

Sixth chapter

"Hey Misaki, what's the thing between you and the blonde?" Aoi asked that question immediately when he saw Misaki stepping out of the staff's changing room.  
"Who?" Tora and Takumi both had blond hair, so she really didn't know who Aoi was talking about. He sighed.  
"Your neighbor."

Misaki stopped everything she was doing (which was almost nothing, just talking to her friend and walking towards the Maid Latte's backdoor). Really, what was Takumi to Misaki? And what was Misaki to Takumi? They weren't just neighbors, because they practically spent at least one hour per day together. Friends? Yes, probably. For some reason, she became upset when she thought about him as a friend, but quickly, she pushed the feeling of disappointment away.

Now, when she thought about him being her friend, it felt odd. She didn't cry in front of her friends. She didn't hug her friends (unless they were like Sakura, who hugged her every time they met). She didn't sleep next to her friends, and she especially did_ not_ snuggle closer to them and pretend to be asleep so she could enjoy of the warmth. Still…

"I guess we're friends."  
"You guess?" he asked. Aoi was oblivious of the fact that she had kept quiet for at least fifteen seconds before answering to his question.  
"Yeah", she mumbled, looking down to the floor. She felt his warm hand on her shoulder, but didn't turn her head and meet his eyes; instead, she closed her eyes.  
"Spit it out, Misaki", he said, and when she opened her eyes, they showed that she didn't know what he was talking about. "You obliviously are keeping something from me… as well as from yourself."

Misaki blinked a few times, looked down to her feet and let out a loud sigh.  
"Yeah, I guess I am", she admitted more to herself as her voice was not louder than a whisper. Still, Aoi heard her frustrated voice, and it made him smile a little.  
"Well, what is it?" he waited for an answer, but she just kept watching the floor under their feet. This time it was he who sighed.  
"Actually, I know really well what you're not telling. I just want you to say it out loud, so you'll be able to admit and accept the whole thing."

That made her rise her head and look him straight to his eyes. She looked kind of mad, and at that moment, Aoi almost screamed and ran away like he was on fire. Instead of that, he stayed still and looked back, but flinched a little, when she raised her eyebrows.  
"You're torturing me, aren't you?" her voice was something what he couldn't understand; angry but still, confused and a little uncertain. He thought for a while what he should answer.  
"No… Well, maybe a little… ", he bit his cheek under her angry glare, "but I just want to do a favor to you. Everything is easier when you don't lie to yourself."  
"I'm… I'm not lying to myself", she mumbled, and turned her eyes away from him, again.

Misaki was having a battle inside her mind, and it was driving her crazy. Was she lying to herself? No, no, no! How would she? About what? She wasn't a person who lied, especially for herself. She was honest, no matter what…

And yet, there she was, lying. Again. Yes, she was lying to herself. About lying and about her feelings towards Takumi, which were growing every day. Every time they met, her heartbeat was getting faster and louder – it sounded like drums in her own ears. Every time Takumi was as a Master in Maid Latte, she felt safe yet nervous, and if he wasn't in her presence, she felt out of everything and missed his teasing smirks and his sparkly emerald eyes. For example, he wasn't in Maid Latte today, and Misaki didn't pay attention to anything and bumped into two people, dropped one plate and huffed to one pervert and smacked that person before even realizing it. She was really grumpy when Takumi wasn't there giving her one of his too handsome smiles.

Okay, she had to admit it… She li-

"Misaki?" Aoi's voice interrupted her thoughts and made her snap back to reality.  
"Umm… Yeah?" she was gritting her teeth.  
"You okay?" his gaze trailed down to her balled fists and raised an eyebrow.  
"Y-yes", she stuttered, and slowly, opened her fists.

A pregnant silence fell upon the two of them. Aoi kept eyeing Misaki, who was fingering her shirt's hem, watching the floor and biting her lower lip, as if she was going to confess him something important.

As she was thinking earlier – before he had interrupted – she was pretty sure about her feelings towards Takumi. She just had to admit that she… liked him. A lot. Not just by the friendly way, but by the romantic way, as much as she hated it. She didn't like liking anyone. And when the person who she liked was a perverted alien, who could make her blush by saying a few words, she hated it.

What should she do now?

"Aoi?" her voice was uncertain, and didn't sound like Misaki at all.  
"Yes?" Aoi smiled inwardly.  
"I have a problem."  
"I think you have lots of problems", she almost cut him off, "but tell me what _the_ problem is."

"I… ", she started, not knowing what to say, so she kept a short pause.  
"Yes?" he asked, and got a warning glare from the girl in front of him. Hell, she was really scary. She was silent for a few minutes and started fingering her shirt again.  
"I- I think I like Takumi." She was redder than a tomato.  
"And the problem is?" Confusion flashed in her face, but immediately, she raised her eyebrows.  
"What should I do? I mean… It's not like he likes me back… " Aoi smacked her, mentally. Was she really that stupid?  
"Are you blind or something?" he asked, "Haven't you really seen the way he looks at you? And why do you think he keeps coming here and visiting you all the time? Why you eat together at his pla-"  
"Wait! How do you even know about that?!"  
"We-well, it's not important… "  
"No, tell me!" They glared at each other for a minute, until he turned his head away.

"Anyhow, shouldn't we focus on the problem of yours?" he asked, and Misaki nodded.  
"So, what should I do?"  
"How about confessing to him?"  
"What? No! There's no way I'll embarrass myself in front of him like that!"  
"But –"  
"NEVER!"

Aoi was almost trembling under her angry and really stubborn glare, but still, kept his eyes on hers, until she sighed and smiled a little to him, remembering that it was not his fault that she had a crush on some man.

"Well, thank you for your help… ", she turned around and placed her hand on the doorknob, "I guess we'll see soon enough. Bye." Slowly, she opened the door and stepped out, waved to Aoi and closed the door. When she got the fresh air inside her lungs, Misaki closed her eyes, took a deep breath and relaxed her muscles. Their conversation was rather embarrassing for her, and she couldn't get rid of the heat on her cheeks even when it was colder outside.

"You know, you're really a little blind, like Aoi said", she heard a familiar voice, and immediately opened her eyes wide. She had to blink a few times to realize that it really was Takumi, standing in front of her with a warm – yet a little teasing – smile on his handsome face.

"Eeeeehh?!" an unnecessary voice escaped from her mouth, "Y-you heard our conversation?" He nodded. Her eyes grew even wider, and she didn't know what to say or what to do.  
"Hey, Misaki", he started, but she didn't have time to answer, "why do you think I don't like you?" He watched as she blinked and her mouth opened, but no words came out. She looked down to her feet, for the umpteenth time today. She was still speechless – she didn't know why. Probably because of embarrassment and… did he just confess something?

Takumi sighed. This was harder than he had thought. She didn't say anything, and he didn't know if it was a good sign, but he knew that she liked her. He had known it before, but listening to the two teenagers' conversation just made him sure of it. He just wanted to press his lips against hers, tell her how he felt towards her… But for the first time in years, he was feeling a little uncertain of himself.

"Misaki?" he asked, placed his right hand under her chin and lifted her head, so their eyes met.  
"Y-yes?" Misaki stammered, trying to ignore his warm touch and gather herself, but miserably failed. He kept their eye contact, leaned closer to her face, and now, she was able to feel his warm exhales on her face.

"I like you. Like, a really, really much", well, those words were not like him, but this was his first time confessing to someone. She opened her mouth to say something, but he crashed his warm lips onto hers, and automatically, she responded to it. Misaki forgot everything around them and didn't even try to think clearly, when the warm, tingling feeling in her stomach spread to every place in her body and made her feel like she was floating in the air. Her hands were pressed against his muscular chest while his left hand was on her neck and other on her waist.

Takumi was surprised of her boldness. Sure, he was the bolder person of the two of them, but he was sure she would push him away from her and yell from top of her lungs, but this… This was something he wasn't waiting for. No, he wasn't complaining. He was extremely pleased with her actions, and enjoyed of the warmth she was offering. He didn't remember where they were, how he had ended up to the position he was in, because the only thing he remembered was the girl in his arms. The warmth spread through his body and his mind was full of fog, and he couldn't think about anything.

The kiss didn't last long, but for the two of them, it felt like eternity, and they wanted to stay like that. When they pulled apart, Misaki was blushing and Takumi was smiling wider than he had ever before smiled. She refused to look at him, embarrassed about the kiss and ashamed of her behavior, but he didn't move his gaze away from her red face.

"W-why are you st-staring?" she stammered, trying to sound normal. Again, she failed. Partly because she was trying to catch her, partly because she was nervous, embarrassed…  
"Just thinking", he smirked.

They stood in an awkward – well at least it was awkward for the girl - silence for a while. Misaki was trying to get rid of her new skin tone, and Takumi was still staring her.

"Should we go home?" he asked, patted her head and started walking. He knew she would follow right behind him; and yes, she started walking when she realized she was getting left behind. She kept her eyes on the ground like it was the most interesting thing in the world, but let her mind wander. What just happened? They kissed! And the most important thing… He said he likes her. Really?! She didn't know what to feel, but fought against a little smile which was trying to find its way to her red face. Today she seemed to fail in many things; the smile was plastered on her face and she didn't even notice it.

She woke up from her thoughts when he intertwined their hands. Misaki looked down to their hands, blushed a little, raised her eyes only to meet his, and blushed even more. Her mind was telling her to pull away, but her body acted by itself, and now, she decided to let it be. It was not like holding hands meant anything… Besides, his hand was warm.

Takumi noted that she didn't pull her hand away from his, and it made him even happier than he already was. Her hand was so small and warm, and he felt really proud while holding it. When people walked past him, he even allowed himself to smile at them (he didn't usually acknowledge others). Still, he gave side glances to the girl next to her, and couldn't help but smile even wider when he noticed that she was looking at him, too.

They walked in silence, but it wasn't awkward anymore. It was peaceful, and Misaki was deep in thoughts. The man kept glancing at the girl next to him, and at some point realized that she had had a little smile on her face for the whole time they had been walking.

When they were standing in the elevator, Misaki decided to answer to him.  
"I guess that you heard this earlier when I was talking to Aoi, but… ", she started, kept a short pause to get some courage, "I like you, too." She avoided eye contact by pretending that the elevator's floor was the most interesting thing in the world, and felt how the heat on her cheeks was getting even worse by every second. Takumi stared her for whole five seconds, and then, he smiled teasingly and ruffled her hair.  
"I know." Misaki smacked him on his left arm, and he let out a small laughter.

They stepped out of the elevator at the same time, and when the girl tried to head to her apartment's door, she realized that their hands were still intertwined. She looked up to his eyes, then to their hands, waiting for him to let go. Instead of letting go, he grabbed her other hand, too, and looked her straight to eyes. He took a deep breath and smiled.

"Will you be my girlfriend?" Okay, asking something like that made him feel like he was a fifteen years old teenager, but really, dating (or at least wanting to date), "lovelife" and things like those were new to him, and he didn't really know what to do. He was relieved when Misaki had a small smile playing on her lips and her cheeks were red.  
"Yes." She felt kind of stupid too, but let it slide. She was feeling all bubbly inside, and she really wanted to date the man who was holding her little hands in his owns right now. She saw no reason to say "no" to him.

And Takumi was really blushing. Not even nearly much as she was, but he had a little pinkish cheeks and ears. Blushing somehow suited him, and when she thought about that, a chuckle almost escaped from her mouth, but she knew that the man was looking at her, so she didn't let it out. She was embarrassed enough, and if he would ask what she was chuckling for, she would probably blurt something embarrassing out (like "you look cute while blushing") and make him laugh.

He felt really happy. He couldn't help but smile (he had never smiled as much as today) the smile which could make the whole world squeal and swoon like crazy fangirls.

"Misaki?" his voice interrupted her thoughts.  
"Y-yeah?" for some reason, she stammered.  
"Can I kiss you?"  
"Wha-"

Well, as you probably guessed, she was cut off by his lips on hers, again.

Later that evening, the new couple was sitting on Takumi's apartment and eating some pizza (Misaki felt like eating some junk food, and he accepted it after arguing about it for ten minutes). Misaki didn't really know how she should act now, when they were a couple, so she just decided to act like she was used to. Dating didn't mean that they had to be kissing and cuddling all the time, right? When she dated Tora, they were kind of distant from each other at first, but after dating for a while, they started getting closer and she didn't feel that embarrassed about little kisses and hugs.

"So, your school starts on next Monday, right?" Takumi asked, and she nodded.  
"How come we haven't been talking about school earlier… Where are you studying?"  
"In Seika High… It's kind of –" He almost chocked on his pizza. Misaki patted his back with a surprised expression on her face.  
"Is there something wrong?"

Takumi didn't answer at first. He was beating himself up in his mind and trying to get this situation clearer to himself and cursing his life. The luck had never been favoring him, but wasn't this just too much? Had he done something extremely horrible to deserve this?

"Takumi, alien! Tell me what's wrong!"

And how come they hadn't been talking about her school and his job earlier? Mental kick to his super-sensitive area. How stupid was he? Mental smack to his head. He wanted to quit the job even before starting it.

Smack. Not mental, a smack from his… girlfriend (it felt really good to call her his girlfriend in his mind) to his head. The smack made him stop spacing out, but he had to take a few deep breaths and swallow hard before opening his mouth.

"We have a really big problem."  
"Tell me", she ordered. He pinched the bridge of his nose, sighed, and looked at her.  
"Well, I haven't told you about my job, right?"  
"No, you haven't." She didn't like this at all.

A silence fell upon the two of them for a few minutes.

"I start teaching in Seika High."

Great.

"Takumi, we have a huge problem."

**Sorry, I realized I'm really bad in writing anything romantic, so this kind of sucks.**

**And oh, I like reviews. (; **


	8. Chapter 7

**I'm so freaking stupid - I haven't used honorifics earlier, so I can't just start doing it now… So, umm… forgive me.**

**And then… WHAT THE DUCK IS GOING ON? This story has 82 reviews, 28 favs and 58 followers! Wow! Thank you!**

Seventh chapter

Misaki took a deep breath before entering the student council's room. She straightened her skirt, relaxed her body and stepped inside. The room hadn't changed at all - it still remained clean and fresh-smelling like before when she had forced the student council to clean it up. The only weird thing was that almost everyone from student council was in the room already, and Misaki felt strangely happy about it.

"Good morning, everyone", she greeted, smiling kindly. The boys weren't used to her kind face, even when they had seen it many (four, to be exact) times already. She looked so much prettier with a kind expression on her face.  
"Morning", they answered – some of them kept looking at her even when she had turned her head away from their direction. She looked really happy, as if she was enjoying of being back in school. Well, she was, but the rest of the student council didn't know it.

Misaki walked to her desk, sat down and noticed the papers on her desk. Just when she was starting to take a look at them, Yukimura hurried to the room and stopped in front of her desk. Slowly, she raised her gaze.  
"Yes?" she asked. She still had a hint of the kind expression on her face, and it made Yukimura feel a little easier around her.  
"The principal wants you… ", he stopped to take a deep breath, and earned a loud laughter from behind him. The president ignored them, but Yukimura blushed a little.  
"N-no! No, tha-that's not what I meant… ", Misaki raised her eyebrows, "He- he wants you to meet him." She nodded, rose up, said "thank you" to Yukimura and shot a glare to the boys behind Yukimura, who were trying to control their laughs. Then, she walked out of the room and walked as fast as possible to the principal's room.

She knocked the door, and she didn't even have to wait for a second to hear the old principal's deep voice, which told her to come in. She opened the door and entered the room.

"Good morning", the principal – an old man with grey hair and a round head – greeted, and so did she. She shifted her eyes to a person who was sitting back towards her, face-to-face with the principal. Immediately, she noticed the man's blond locks, and inwardly, she frowned. She had been in school for like ten minutes, and she already had to meet her boyfri- new teacher. Takumi turned his head to meet her gaze, and she smiled kindly to him – still looking like this was the first time they met, not wanting to make the principal suspicious of anything.

"This is Usui Takumi, a new teacher. He is going to teach science and English", the old man told.

After talking with Takumi and the principal for five minutes, she had to lead Takumi to the classroom where he was supposed to spend his day by teaching the students. After exiting the principal's office, Misaki let out a breath she didn't know she was holding in.  
"You alright?" the man next to her asked, almost causing her to jump. She just nodded – she didn't even turn her head to meet his fascinating emerald eyes – and started walking. Takumi followed silently, smiled politely to students who walked past him. Everyone kept glancing at him – _them_, but Misaki didn't seem to mind, so neither did he – and some of them even stopped walking to stare, shamelessly.

Yes, Misaki was unaffected by the glances she and Takumi got from everyone, but she was feeling a little nervous. What if they would act too familiarly towards each other? It would be a really big problem! She was known of hating males, and she never talked if it wasn't necessary to people she didn't know. And even bigger problem: Tora. He had seen Takumi behind Maid Latte. What -

Someone was running. Inside the school. She had her student council president's duty to take care of, so she couldn't just let the running idiot be even though she wasn't in the mood. The person who was running turned out to be some idiot from senior year, and Misaki's eyebrow twitched. That idiot had been in this school for a long time, yet he didn't know that running in the corridors was not allowed!

"No running in the corridors!" she screamed, but the boy decided to ignore her. She controlled her anger – she couldn't hurt anyone in front of a teacher, even though he was her boyfriend when they were not at school – and decided to stop the running boy by stepping in his way and crossing her hands over her chest. She gave the boy an angry glare, and the boy froze when he noticed the fire in her eyes. She fought hard against the urge to throw the boy out of the window.  
"You're a senior, so act like one", her voice was calm, but everyone knew that she could snap anytime. She kept glaring at the boy, and everyone around them tried to disappear to somewhere else without making a sound.

Takumi was watching in amusement. He, too, was almost scared of her right now, but for some reason, he found the situation really funny, and had to fight against a smile. Really, this girl was something. Everyone seemed to be afraid of her, and she was able to make everyone quiet by a simple glance.

"I- I'm sorry… ", the runner stuttered, looking like he was going to faint or pee on his pants. Misaki raised her eyebrows, eyed him for a while, and then, stepped away from his way. The boy almost ran away, but when he remembered who made him want to run and at the same time made him not to run was in corridor with him, he just walked away as fast as possible. When the boy was gone, Takumi chuckled, and earned a cold glare from his girlfriend… Oh, how good it felt to call her his girlfriend.

They didn't meet each other at school again today. Misaki was busy with her student council work, so she spent her every break in student council's room and kept working. She didn't have science or English on Mondays, so Takumi didn't teach her that day. Also, Tora wasn't at school. She felt a little worried, but she shook it off (or at least tried to). He was not her business anymore. She hated that jerk… But still, why wasn't he at school? Maybe he was sick? Or maybe he just went back to Miyabigaoka? After all, he came to Seika High only to be with her as much as possible – even though she had protested (a lot).

When the school ended, Misaki headed back to student council's room. She had plenty of work to do, so she would be in school until her shift at Maid Latte would start. Sighing, she sat down to her chair and took a look to the papers which were laying on her – the president's – desk.

She had avoided people who wanted to ask her about Tora, because honestly, she didn't know what to answer to their questions. "Are you two still together?" Of course not! But what would she say if – when – they would ask "why"? Nothing like "he turned out to be a jerk who plays with other people's feelings, so I dumped him after seeing him kiss another girl (who by the way is in our school, too)"! When someone had tried to ask her something about him or them, she had invented an excuse to go to do something else.

People left the room one by one, until she was alone. She still had thirty minutes before she had to leave, so she kept doing her work and didn't notice when a person entered the student council's room. Well, probably everyone can guess who the blond enterer was.

Takumi watched how much effort she put to everything she did, and it made him a little proud – he didn't actually know why, but to see the determined expression on her face, he just couldn't help but smile a small smile. Her working pace was fast – she handled everything in less than a minute, whatever it was. At some point, she murmured something to herself, sounded a little angry, and a few times in five minutes, he noticed a smile crack on her lips.

Of course, she was startled when she lifted her head only to meet his soft gaze. Immediately, a small blush crept to her cheeks – and she did not know why – but her expression turned into a little hesitant.

"What are you doing here?" she hissed and crossed her arms on her chest. He grinned.  
"Why, can't I just come here to spend time with my girl-"  
"Shh!" Somehow, she had managed to stand up and place her hand on his mouth in a second or two. Her expression was a mix of many emotions, and he almost chuckled to the blush on her cheeks.  
"Idiot, we're inside the school! How stupid are you? You can't just –"

"Ewww!"

Misaki pulled her hand away when she felt him licking her hand, and now, she was staring him, eyes as big as plates. Takumi grinned from ear to ear.  
"Pervert! What the fu-" Again, she got interrupted. Not by his tongue, she would've noted happily if she wasn't too distracted because of his warm fingers on her lips. Though she was a little disappointed because he hadn't kiss- Misaki, stop it!

"Of course I know we're inside the school, I'm not stupid", he started, "but I happen to know that you and I are the only ones left here, so it's not like we're going to get caught." His grin was now gone, though he was smiling inwardly. Seeing her as frustrated as she was now was kind of funny. And she was adorable with the red cheeks and angry-ish glare she was giving to him, when she pushed his hand away.

The blanket of silence fell upon them, but to Misaki, the silence wasn't comfortable. Takumi was enjoying of the attention he was getting from her (he knew she wouldn't be angry to him for a long time). She kept glaring daggers at him, and he responded with a teasing smile and challenging eyes. He wondered how long she could keep her eyes open and not blinking, and after having a staring contest for three minutes, she turned her away, grabbed her bag and walked out of the room. He decided to follow her – what else would he do? -, knowing that she was heading to Maid Latte.

When they exited the school area, she had already forgiven him – after all, there was nothing much to be angry with. Just… She wasn't comfortable with being around him at school, especially not in the student council's room. She was the freaking student council president, and she was dating the new teacher! Really, she was supposed to be a good role model for the other students, but no, she was doing possibly the most horrible thing ever! Well, okay, maybe that was a little too much, but still… Someone might even consider their relationship gross… Not that she did. She glanced at the man next to her. She was totally fine with their age difference, and the problem she saw was his job in Seika High, not the year when he was born. And it wasn't like she was the one who would get the big problem if the principal would know about them; Takumi would get fired without a second chance, but she would just probably get a warning and an enemy of the principal.

"Misaki?" his deep voice woke her up from her thoughts.  
"Yeah?" she turned her head to meet his eyes.  
"What are you thinking?" She looked away from him.  
"Nothing much."  
"Really?" She just shrugged her shoulders as an answer.

Takumi knew that whatever it was, it was not just "nothing", but he decided to let it slip away. If she didn't want to say it, he didn't make her. She just seemed to be in deep thoughts, so he had been a little curious.

He replayed his day in his mind: he hadn't been nervous about teaching – though it was his first time –, had gotten along with his colleagues, some of the students were a little stupid and annoying, the girls asked him a lot of questions about his private life and he had felt a little cornered with them (not that he would admit it to anyone), and the best part was when he saw how scary Misaki could be and how people listened - and respected, even though the boys hid it well - her.

They arrived to behind Maid Latte, and when she was going to disappear inside the staff's room by using the backdoor, she turned around to say something to him, only to see him leaning closer to her face. She didn't have time to say anything, because she was too busy with dealing his soft lips against hers. Startled – and totally embarrassed – she managed to respond the kiss. She wasn't used to sudden kisses, and she usually did not respond to them (Takumi had learned that after trying to kiss her for five times in a day only to get pushed away and scolded by the embarrassed girl), but now, she felt really cuddly. Maybe it was because she was really exhausted and still, somehow happy because of the school.

Someone cleared his throat, and it made her practically jump away from Takumi. She was blushing already, but seeing Aoi's smirking face made her blush even more – if it was possible. Takumi looked unaffected, and he just smiled friendly at Aoi. The two of them had talked a few times in Maid Latte, and Takumi was really thankful to the blue-eyed teenager who had talked to Misaki about their relationship.

"So", Aoi started, "I guess it's official now?" Takumi nodded, and she remained quiet, avoiding the two males' eyes.  
"Though I can't understand what you see in such weird woman as her." Now, Misaki glared daggers at Aoi, who hurried inside Maid Latte and gestured her to come, too.

She turned her head to her boyfriend.  
"I guess I'll see you tomorrow at school?" she asked with a small smile (which she didn't notice).  
"No", he said, and grinned to her expression, "I'm waiting you over here and then, you'll come to my place."  
"I can't. I have homework to do."  
"You can do them at my place. It's not like I'm going to disturb you while cooking." She sighed, and after thinking for a few seconds, she nodded hesitantly.

"Well, see you later, then", the girl said, turning on her heels and heading towards the open door. As much as Takumi wanted to grab her wrist and pull her into another kiss, he decided not to. Leaning to the wall and enjoying of the cool breeze, he thought about what he would cook tonight.

Misaki worked as hard as she usually did. Today, she just smiled a little more than usually and treated the idiot trio almost as good as the other clients. She didn't glare daggers at Aoi when he complained about her manliness and weirdness to everyone in the staff's room, but no-one asked about it. They knew her school had started today, so it had to have something to do with it. Aoi guessed that her happiness – or let's just say satisfaction – was not because of school, but because of her new boyfriend.

Takumi decided to go to a grocery store to buy some ingredients and waste his time. He decided earlier they would eat some chicken tonight, so that was what he bought. Also, he bought Pockys and something to eat as a breakfast tomorrow. He wanted to buy some lollipops, but he felt like he was a little child if he did, so he didn't. Poor guy.

When her shift ended, they walked in peace back to the building where they both lived. They held hands – at first Misaki was blushing furiously as she tried to pull her hand back, but he didn't let go.

"So, how was your first day at school?" Takumi asked with a small smile gracing his lips.  
"Shouldn't I be the one asking that? I just returned from holiday, but you started today."  
"I want to know how your day was." The girl shrugged her shoulders.  
"Whatever. It was nice."  
"Nothing special happened?" he sounded curious.

She thought about it. Boys had been nicer than before today. Some of them had even smiled to her, and she had smiled back. Some of them looked taken aback by that – she was the Demon President, after all. The student council had worked hard, so she didn't have as much work to do as she was used to. She felt strangely happy and pleased today, and she didn't know why – though she didn't care much. As long as she felt that way, everything was okay. Being happy made other people around her happy, too.

"People were nicer, I didn't have to… scold many people and the student council's members worked really hard today. And I feel somehow pleased, though I don't know why." Takumi's smile grew wider, but he didn't answer to her. He just squeezed her hand tighter, and made her blush again.

Once they got to Takumi's apartment, he started cooking and she started doing her homework and studying. She worked hard to keep her grades up – she really liked being the best – and anyone could see it. Also, as weird as it may sound, she liked studying. Studying was her escape from not-so-nice thoughts she had sometimes. Learning new things was fun, because she wanted to be proud of herself. But more than anything, she wanted her family to be proud of her. Seeing her mother's proud smile when she told her about her grades and work was something she loved, and the little, almost invisible smile on Suzuna's face warmed her heart.

Misaki didn't notice when Takumi placed a plate in front of her to the table, so he decided to wake her up from her thoughts and studies by kissing her forehead. Unfortunately, she sensed someone coming really close to her head, and as she lifted her head up, it hit his jaw. It made him laugh – even though it hurt a little – and seeing how surprised she was made him laugh even more. She furrowed her brows.

"What were you trying to do, pervert?"

He answered by pressing his lips against hers.

**Sorry, this chapter is a boring one! I promise I'll try to write next one faster and make it at least a little better.**


	9. Chapter 8

**Okay, I know. I'm horrible. But this is 1000 words longer than usual, so am I forgiven?**

Eighth chapter

Tuesday morning was cloudy. The sun was peeking from behind the white, fluffy clouds. The air felt wonderfully fresh as Misaki inhaled deeply and let the oxygen spread through her body. She was almost inside the school – she just had to open the door and step inside Seika High – and she knew that she was the first one at school. Nobody – or at least not average students – came to school before they were almost forcefully shooed away from home by their parents (excluding the president).

The school's corridors were empty as she had known. The only sounds she could hear were her own steps against the floor as she headed to student council's room. A little smile was plastered on her face, though she didn't know why. It was just so nice to be back at school after her summer vacation. Normally teenagers hate school – or at least going to there -, but Misaki just found it nice. Although she yelled to other students every day, did a lot of paperwork and already knew everything they were studying, school was nice. It was like an escape from the land of boredom. And well, of course, going to school and getting the best grades were good things considering her future. Being inside the school, walking in the corridors, being the first one at school, yelling to idiots… they made her feel like she was welcomed (even though she knew that most of the male population hated her more than school) and needed.

When Misaki reached the student council's room, she was surprised to see the door being open. Furrowing her brows, she entered the room and when she saw the person who had opened the door, her smile disappeared immediately. She felt a little pain in her chest, but the anger in her veins was even more horrible and it felt as though her blood was boiling. She had to control her temper, so she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and relaxed her stiffened body.

"Tora", she said as she opened her eyes, "what are you doing here?"

She watched as the said boy leaned against the wall, just right next to window, never turning his eyes away from it. He looked like he was deep in thought with that far-away look in his eyes, but she knew better. He was enjoying of the building anger inside her. His corner of mouth was twitching upwards.

"Can't I come and see my girlfrie-"  
"Ex", her voice was sharper than a knife and colder than ice.

Tora's eye twitched – in annoyance, maybe? – and he took several steps towards her. She stood still, never stopping glaring at his approaching figure. When he was standing firmly in front of her, their bodies were almost touching each other. His radiating warmth felt so familiar to her, yet it felt like something lacked. She was used to someone else's warmth, to someone else's safe arms around her…

"Plus, I'm a student in this school, too", he said, having a little, smug grin on his face.  
"I was kind of hoping that you'd go back to Miyabigaoka", she answered bluntly.  
"Why would I do that?" his grin never left his face, and Misaki felt like punching it away.  
"Well, at first you transferred to this school only to be close to me, right?"  
"Right."

She raised her eyebrows in disbelief. She thought he was going to say something like… well, something not like that. And because he was in Seika High only to be closer to her, why hadn't he transferred back to Miyabigaoka when the idiot had been with another girl?

She opened her mouth to ask about it, but his intense eyes on her stopped her on her tracks. His grin was nowhere to be seen as he bent down to whisper to her ear, "I'm here because of you."

Her whole body stiffened, her eyes grew wide and for several seconds, she just stared into nothingness. When she came back to her senses, she felt his hungry lips on her parted ones, and it took her a while to realize what he was doing. Tora fucking Igarashi was kissing her, his ex-girlfriend, who was turning angrier by every moment. She tried to push him away, to get rid of the familiar feeling on her lips, to get rid of the utter disgust in her mind, but she didn't manage in it – after all, Tora was really tall and well, he had a huge frame compared to hers.

She was furious.

Anger boiled in her veins stronger than in a long time – probably stronger than ever before – as she bit his lower lip, hard, kicked him between his thighs with her knee and when she got the chance, pushed him away from her. When he wasn't touching her anymore, she clenched her hands into fist, not wanting to hit him, and turned around – and managed to bump to someone's chest. And it felt awfully familiar. She lifted her head to see his emerald eyes, which were not staring back to her amber ones.

"What happened here?" Takumi asked, eyeing Tora suspiciously.

Tora, who was cursing the pain under his breath, raised his gaze to meet the older one's cold eyes. He looked surprised for a moment, because he recognized those emerald eyes from the day when Misaki had yelled to him behind Maid Latte. What was that man doing in Seika High? He was clearly older than a high school student, so was he? And why hadn't Misaki backed away from him? The older male raised his eyebrows, waiting for someone – well, actually, Tora – to answer. However, he didn't get the chance to open his mouth, because Misaki was already speaking.

"Nothing happened here, Mr. Usui", she said with a steady voice. She was able to pull herself back together before doing anything more while the two males were looking at each other, and now, she was back in the position of the president. She eyed her boyfriend and teacher, giving him a reminder of that he was only a teacher to her in school. He nodded, but gave her back a glance which told her that he wouldn't let this slide – she should tell about this encounter later.

Misaki decided to ignore the two males in the room, and so she walked to her desk and sat down to her chair. She didn't even give a glance to the others in the room. She pretended to do her job – well, she really tried to do it, but was distracted by the others – as she listened to their doings. She heard, how Takumi took hesitant steps away, and after a few seconds, he was gone. The girl waited for Tora to leave, but instead, she felt his eyes on her.

"Tora, go away", she commanded, not looking at him. Still, he didn't move, and she sighed in frustration and massaged her temples. She didn't even notice how close he was to her, before he spoke.

"After that violent act of yours", he started, "I would be careful, Misaki. I'm not done with you, and I'm not intending to let you go." He sounded almost dangerous, but the girl didn't even flinch under his eyes.  
"You haven't had a grip of me in a long time." She was now glaring back. They glared each other for a good time, until other student council's member started filling the room. They were used to seeing Tora in the room, so they greeted the (ex-)couple casually, took their seats and started doing their works.

"Tora, get out. Now", Misaki said in a harsh tone, and people gave her a few glances. She didn't usually talk to Tora like that – if she wanted him out, she said it in a little lower tone, nothing more.  
"Why?" he asked. People looked like they were doing the things they should do, but really, they were just listening.  
"I don't want to see your face, you don't have anything to do in here and you're making me angrier by every second, so if you don't want this building to explode, I suggest you to disappear." People heard the anger in her voice, and they shivered. Nobody dared to say anything. When Tora decided to obey, everyone let out breaths they didn't know they were holding. The danger was over - at least for a while. The council's members shared one concerned look and wondered, what had happened between the couple.

Misaki sighed for umpteenth time when the bell rang. She hurried to the classroom, greeted her math teacher and took her seat from the back row, right next to the window. She glanced at her schedule, only to realize that she would have English today. And Takumi taught English. Nervousness filled her mind, but she tried to push it away, when the math teacher greeted the whole class and started doing his job.

Hours flew. She focused on everything – even though she knew everything because she studied at home before the vacation's end – and spent every break doing her student council work. When it was time for English, she felt excitement – not the warm kind of excitement, the horrible – in her stomach. Misaki didn't even know why she was that excited – it's not like they should talk to each other. Other student's wouldn't realize their relationship. They couldn't.

Again, she took her seat from the back row, right next to the window. She tried to chase away the nervousness by watching through the glass and thinking about everything else than her new teacher. Thinking about weather was the best way to chase Takumi out of her mind. It was still cloudy, and the wind was blowing. Now, sun was nowhere to be seen and the clouds looked a bit darker than normal. It looked like it was going to rain… A memory of her and Takumi sitting in the beach, and she wanted to hit herself.

"Good day, everyone", his voice was calm as always, and it made her a little less nervous. She turned her head away from the window and looked at him. He had a small smile on his lips. Some girls in the front row giggled something, someone blushed a little and well, everyone stared his appearance. He was handsome, everyone knew – saw – that.

"My name is Takumi Usui, and I teach English and science. Do you have any questions?" That question made almost everyone open their mouths, and Misaki had some problems with catching their words.

"How old are you?"  
"Do you like blondes?"  
"How much do you work out?"  
"What is your favorite color?"  
"Do you have a girlfriend?"

Those were the only ones she was able to catch, and those were the only ones he decided to answer to. When the class was quiet again, Takumi thought for a while what to say.

"I'm twenty-one, I don't really like blondes", - a few girls frowned, - "I don't work out that much, my favorite color is… amber, and yes, I do have a girlfriend." Girls practically cried, boys wondered who was the girl who was dating him – she _had_ to be hot to have someone like him – and Misaki just narrowed her amber eyes and burned holes into Takumi with her eyes. He glanced to her direction, and when their eyes met, Misaki turned her head away. Her boyfriend kept glancing to her direction, and every time, she avoided eye contact.

Takumi was a great teacher. He didn't stutter – it was easy to hear and understand what he was saying. He looked (and was) confident, and it made the class remain quiet and listen his deep voice. Also, his English was perfect. Misaki wondered where he had learned it. Even her English wasn't as good as his, and hers was really good.

For the first half of the class, Misaki felt like a little kid who has stolen candies from kitchen and is getting caught, but after making herself comfortable and starting writing her notes, she relaxed and was able to focus on the subject. It was almost like she had forgotten who the man who was teaching the class was. Almost. She was still able to feel the little butterflies of excitement on her stomach, and they still made her feel a little nervous, but she could ignore them.

Takumi, though he would never admit it, was feeling a little excitement inside him, too. For some reason, he liked it. It made him want to give some glances to the girl sitting in the back row, right next to the window, it made him want to walk there, bent down and kiss her senseless in front of the whole class. Of course, he wasn't stupid. If he would just walk there and kiss her, she would be really mad… Well, it wouldn't be good for his job, either. He just had to settle with giving some glances to her direction.

As the man taught the youngsters, the early encounter between Misaki and Tora, her ex-boyfriend, popped up to his mind. He had happened to walk past the student council's room – in hopes to see his extremely adorable and hard-working girlfriend doing her work – and when he had glanced in, he was just in time to see, how Misaki pushed the almost-whimpering Tora away from her. Takumi had had a lot of problems with trying to control the urge to kill the stupid teenager boy away from someone who he claimed his (Misaki would be really angry to hear that he called her "his"), but somehow, he had managed in it.

When the bell rang as a mark of the end of school, everyone – including Misaki – grabbed their stuffs and hurried away from the room. She didn't have work today, so she had decided a few days ago that she'd do some student council works beforehand.

When she arrived to the student council's room, she sat down to her seat and grabbed the papers from the desk. She had lots to do, so she should probably spend a long time in the room alone. Other members wouldn't come today – they all had something else to do and Misaki, being a kind girl, had told them to go and finish their things tomorrow morning.

Now, she had to accept her fate and drown herself to the work. She actually liked doing it, if there's not too much or not too unnecessary things. Sighing, she started reading through the papers.

"No, no, no… Isn't there anything non-pervert? Stupid, pervert boys… "

Someone chuckled.

Misaki turned her head around and again, saw a blonde boy leaning against a wall. Boy, not a man. She glared at him, and Tora grinned as a response. She kept glaring daggers at him, but he looked like he was unaffected, or he just didn't notice her angry eyes.

When he saw his bloody lower lip, she had to admit that she felt a little bad for hurting him earlier. She knew that kicking him to his sensitive area hurt, and well, biting a lip hurt, too. She decided that she wouldn't hurt him again today, and hoped that he would make controlling her anger easier.

"Go away", she mumbled, and turned back to read the papers, hoping that the boy would just go home or kiss another girl to somewhere else. She didn't care, as long as he would disappear from the room.  
"Shouldn't you at least ask what I want?" his voice was the one he used while teasing her, but there was also something else in it.  
"I don't really want to know."

Tora appeared in front of her desk, and bent down to have his face in the same level as hers. Misaki noticed that, but didn't flinch away. Her expression was the same as the one she held when she realized the boy was in the room – annoyed and angry. He leaned closer to her face, and she kept glaring at him. When she felt his breath on her face, she lifted her hand up and placed her little fingers on his lips.

"Tora, stop harassing me. Unlike you, I have something important to do", the girl said, looking straight to his eyes. He almost felt like she was forcing him to walk away, but he didn't even turn his head away. When he opened his mouth to speak, she pulled her hand back.  
"This is important to me", he started, "I really want to be near to you and make sure that nobody gets the person who belongs to me." His voice wasn't loud, but it surely made her angrier. She had to hide her hands under her desk so she couldn't punch or slap him.

Misaki did _not_ belong to anyone, especially not to Tora. What the fuck was he talking, anyway? He had been the one to cause their break-up, and now, here he was, telling her that she was his and that she couldn't be with someone else than him! For God's sake, she had been the one to see that idiot with someone else!

"You're really an idiot, aren't you?" she was now glaring her hands, which were curled into fists and resting on her lap, "Okay, now listen to me. You don't decide whom I'm with, who I talk to… Hell, you don't decide anything that involves me! I do not belong to anyone, not to you, not to my family, not to my friends, not even to my boyfriend!"

Silence.

She realized her mistake only after seeing the shocked expression on Tora's handsome face. The expression soon mirrored to her face, too, and she just wanted to punch herself.

"I-I mean… If I had a boyfriend, I wouldn't belong to him… ", she stuttered. She wouldn't believe herself if she was in the Tora's place, so she knew he didn't, either. Even though he was a jerk, he was not that stupid. His shocked expression was now hidden behind a little bitter smile (though Misaki was too dense to see the bitterness).

"So, who it is?" his voice was cold. Even colder than usual.  
"I said that if I had a boyfriend… " she mumbled, not looking back to his face.  
"And we both know that you lied. Now, tell me, who is the bas- I mean, lucky boy?"

She decided not to answer. Instead, she re-started doing her student council work and ignored the boy who was impatiently waiting for the answer. Tora wanted to make sure that the boy would be single in a matter of hours, so he needed the name. It was easy to make the stupid boys break-up with their girlfriends; just a little money, and they're ready to do anything. Though Misaki wouldn't probably like a boy like that…

Tora was angry, sad, and he felt like he had been betrayed. Misaki had gotten over him in that short time? And she had found a new boyfriend! As long as he knew, he was the first boyfriend for her, and now, she had gotten a new one in a couple of weeks. How was it even possible? She didn't even talk to boys! She always yelled to every male.

He watched as she did her work and thought about her new boyfriend. He was getting more irritated by every second, and he just wanted to get the truth out of her. When he was just saying something, demanding for an answer, some random girl from another class appeared to the door.

"Eh, excuse me? The principle wants to see you, Misaki, in his office in a minute", the girl said. She had a sweet voice, and she kept her eyes on Tora, who didn't pay attention to the girl – though he noticed her adoring eyes and felt a little smirk appearing to his face. Misaki almost rolled her eyes as she stood up, grabbed her back and smiled to the girl.  
"Thank you", the amber-eyed said, and walked past the other girl towards the principal's office.

She felt the excitement in her stomach again. What if someone knew about her and Takumi? What if that someone had told to principle? She was nervous, so she bit her lower lip rather hard as she knocked the door. Again, the old man told her to come in, and she did like she was told.

Fear flew around her body, and she felt how the shivers turned from hot to cold and hot again. When the principle opened his mouth, she just wanted to yell "IT IS NOT TRUE! WE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!" but well, of course, she didn't.

"A new student is transferring to our school tomorrow, and I want you, the student council president, to greet him tomorrow morning in front of this office and lead him to him to his first class. You are on the same class, so it shouldn't be a problem", the man had a small, kind smile on his lips, and Misaki almost sighed in relief when her brains processed the information he gave to her.  
"Of course."

After getting away from the talkative principle and doing the rest of her work and homework, she headed to home. The air was still as fresh as in the morning, and she filled her body with it. Walking in the empty streets in the afternoons were nice and calming, and they were good chances to clear mind from disturbing thoughts.

She was a little mad at herself for telling to Tora that she had a new boyfriend. If he knew that Takumi was in a relationship, too, it wouldn't be too hard for him to count one plus one – especially when he knew that Takumi and Misaki knew each other outside the school, too.

The trip from school to the building where she and Takumi lived felt shorter than usual, because now, she was standing in the elevator and tapping the floor with her foot. She watched her expression from the dirty mirror, and noticed the little, black half-moons under her eyes. She hadn't even realized how exhausted she was, but now, when she knew, a yawn found its way out of her mouth.

The bling told that she was on her floor, so she watched patiently how the doors slit open and stepped out of the elevator. When she saw Takumi leaning against a wall, she rubbed her eyes and after that, blinked a few times to make sure her eyes weren't lying to her. It just didn't make sense to her; why was he waiting for her in the corridor when he could just call or text her?

"Why don't you answer to your phone?" he asked and left the wall alone to walk towards Misaki, who just stood there and watched him, looking really surprised. Again, she blinked. So he had tried to call…  
"I didn't hear my phone", she sighed, and pulled her keys from her pocket and walked to her door. She knew pretty well that he'd follow her inside once she opened the door.

Since she didn't have a couch, they seated down to her bed and Misaki waited for him to say something. She didn't know why he was waiting for her – what could be possibly so important that he would wait for her in the corridor when she couldn't answer his calls?

"What happened this morning?"

Oh, right. He had seen her and Tora in the student council's room, and the situation hadn't been the most normal one – she was acting violently towards the boy, and as a teacher, Takumi wouldn't probably be happy about that…

"Well… ", Misaki wondered what she should say, "umm, he kissed me, and then, I got a little mad and… You saw what happened. I know, I shouldn't have done that –"  
"He _kissed you_?"

He was angry – really angry. Of course he had known that the stupid teenager had done something to her, but to think that he had forcefully kissed her…

Takumi just _had_ to press his lips against her soft ones.

**Oh, and by the way, reviews always make me happy! (;**


	10. Chapter 9

**Oh… I'm so stupid! I've written principle instead of principal… Kill me now, please.  
Again, it took me a long time to write this chapter. I'm sorry. Because of school, I'm exhausted and I don't always have inspiration. Plus, writing this is kind of hard, because I haven't written romance/drama before (not even in Finnish).**

Ninth chapter****

It was Wednesday morning, and Misaki was feeling really grumpy as she walked into the student council's room and took a seat. She talked to herself when she tried to do some work, mumbled about idiots and ended up thinking about yesterday – most of her thoughts were full of Tora. He had made her Tuesday very unpleasant, and Takumi's possessive actions weren't nice, either (or that's what she tried to think, but she actually enjoyed of those hungry lips against hers). The other members of student council took a great distance from her and didn't try to approach her at any point, and she was kind of thankful of that – she didn't want to be accused of almost killing someone.

Misaki glanced at the clock, and realized that she had to meet the new student in two minutes. She just wanted to force someone else to go, but because the principle had especially told her, the student council president, to meet the new transfer student, she had to go. And she didn't even know the new student's name! She hadn't had time to read through the paper about the new boy the principle gave her earlier. But now – she glanced the clock again – she couldn't read it because of the lack of time.

Sighing, she stood up, exited the student council's room and hurried to the principal's office. When she was standing in front of it, she leaned her back against a white wall and raised her hands to massage her temples. She had problems with keeping her eyes on the floor instead of glaring the passing people – students and teachers –, so she had to close them.

The transfer student was late. She had arrived just before it was the time for them to meet, but the boy who she was waiting for was at least two minutes late, and it didn't help her grumpiness. She wanted to bang her head to the wall, but of course, she didn't. When she finally heard footsteps getting closer to her, she opened her eyes and took a good look of the new boy; he had innocent, brown eyes – they looked familiar to her -, brown hair and a tanned skin. He was holding a bread on his hand, and all Misaki wanted to do was to take the bread away from the boy and throw it out of window – after all, eating in the corridors while walking was forbidden.

"You must be the new transfer student, right?" she said and forced a little smile on her face, "I'm the student council president." The boy took a quick bite of his bread and then, he smiled happily.  
"Yes! I'm Hinata Shintani." Now, even his name sounded familiar to Misaki. An image of a lazy, chubby boy flashed in her mind, and she had to glance at the new boy, again. He was definitely not chubby – he looked like he sported a lot with that kind of muscular body. But his eyes… they were just too familiar to her.

"You-kun… **(A/N: okay, this is the only time I'm using Japanese honorific in this story)**", she realized the boy's former nickname, and it just slipped out without her even noticing it. Somehow, Hinata heard her, and raised his eyebrows, looking surprised.  
"My nickname used to be that. How did you know?" She thought for a while.  
"Oh, you probably don't remember, but we were friends when we were little kids." Now, it was easier to smile. She didn't have to force the little curve on her lips anymore.

Hinata blinked a few times and then, spent ten seconds by looking at her – not only her face, but her body, too – and then, his surprised face disappeared, and a really, really happy smile and sparkling eyes replaced it. Who did he think she was? They weren't that close, so –

"Misaki?" He sounded really happy, as though he had found a person he had been searching and missing for a long time. Slowly, she nodded, now with a little uncomfortable feeling growing inside her. In a matter of seconds, she found his arms from around her, and she realized he was hugging her. Hesitantly, she patted his shoulder and after standing in his embrace for a while, she tried to pull herself away from him. When he didn't let go, she mumbled something and used a little more force. Ah, she was free.

They heard whispering from around them, and when Misaki looked around them, she saw many other students standing there, looking at them. She raised her eyebrows as if asking "what?", shot them a glare and turned her eyes back to the boy who was still smiling and trying to ignore the pain in his arms – she had used a little more than a little force while trying to get herself free from his embrace.

"Though I shall warn you, I have changed from the little Misaki. As an example, I don't usually hug people, and next time when you do that, your arm may get broken", the president said. For some – odd? - reason, she felt proud while saying that, and couldn't help but smile. Hinata's smile got a bit smaller, but never left his face.

He had found his first love! He had moved back to the area where he lived in his childhood, transferred to some random school and even before having his first class, he had found the person he had been looking for! He sure had a good luck. Really good luck. Now, the only thing he had to do, was to win her love, because she had already won hers.

Hinata followed her to every place. She almost snapped to him when walked into the student council's room after her, but decided to control herself. Maybe he was just interested of the council and maybe he wanted to know what they do in the room? Maybe if he just saw how nice it was to do some work, he would like to join to the council, too… right?

Misaki wasn't the only one who was not so happy about the boy trailing behind her everywhere; Tora followed the two of them to everywhere (though nobody noticed him), and somehow, he knew that the new boy was not her boyfriend. Hinata just didn't act like a boy who would attract her, and Tora was glad to know that.

The other person who was not so pleased with the newbie was Takumi. Well, after all, the new boy was following his girlfriend to everywhere. The new boy even went to student council's room with her! She didn't usually allow other people to hang out there (it was because the outsiders usually kept disturbing her peace, which was probably not what Hinata was doing, but…). Hinata's eyes never left Misaki, her boyfriend noted when he was teaching English to them. Takumi just wanted to walk to her desk, lean down and kiss her soft lips… Even getting in a fight with her would be worth that. But still, he didn't do it. The students would practically go crazy, and Takumi would get in a horrible trouble.

It was lunch break, and Misaki (and the puppy, Hinata) were in student council's room. She was trying to concentrate on her work, while he was… not letting her concentrate on her work, because of his constant blabbering about things about something – she didn't even quite catch on what he was talking about, because she was trying to shut his voice out, but she was sure she had heard a word "carrot" at some point. Did this guy have that much to talk about when it came to carrots? Really?

"Hey, Misaki, when can I come and visit your family?"

That was something she heard clearly. Her whole body stiffened, but otherwise, she didn't look surprised or tensed at all. She pretended that she was doing her work.

Hinata didn't really know about her family anymore. They had been kind of good friends when they were little, but they hadn't talked to each other since the phone calls they made when they were nine years olds. Sakuya had died when she was eleven, so, clearly, Hinata didn't know that she was fatherless now...

The other people in the room were listening to them, with such great interest. Nobody really knew about the president's private life; she didn't talk about herself and people didn't dare to ask about it. Still, everyone wanted to know about her.

"I can't wait for Sakuya's cooking! He is a very good chef, don't you think?"

For some reason, it hurt. She felt, how something twisted inside her, and she couldn't help but clench her fists. She didn't even turn her head to his direction, because she didn't want to make an eye-contact with anyone right now; tears would probably find their way to her eyes.

Everyone has always told her and her family that time heals. To her, it was just a lie to keep her mind filled with some happier thoughts. The pain, the feeling of being left, the feeling of something lacking, didn't go away. Of course, she had gotten over the fact that Sakuya was dead. But thinking about it… it was like someone was trying to reopen her old wounds. When she thought about him, dozens of other memories came floating to her mind; the horrifying moments, when losing her mother was close, too, the moments, when Suzuna cried the whole night on Misaki's lap, and many other moments.

"Yes, indeed, he was", she answered in a monotonous voice. She kept her eyes on the papers on the desk, but didn't really look at them.  
"Was?" he blurted out before even thinking about it.  
"He died almost seven years ago", her answer came without missing a beat, and her voice was cold.

A silence fell to the room, and Misaki pushed the depressing thoughts out of her mind. She would deal with them later. Every person in the room was looking at Misaki, and she realized that not only she had told about her father's death to Hinata, but to the student council, too. She cursed under her breath, and then, she really returned back to the work, since the silence was peaceful.

When the other members of the student council knew what had happened to her, they all felt such pity towards her. Of course, the president was not the only person with a dead relative, but nobody would have guessed anything like that. Everyone had thought that she had a strict – yet loving – family, because she herself was a caring person, who was hard-working and the best in everything.

"Eh, I- I'm sorry… ", Hinata stuttered after a long silence, and Misaki just shrugged her shoulders and gave him a small smile as a prove of that she was okay now.

After school, the girl went to Maid Latte. She had a shift today. She was a little distant, though she didn't know why. Meeting Hinata brought many memories of her childhood days and her family in her mind, and they weren't something she liked to think about. Of course, those memories were precious to her – after all, her family was complete those days – but they always made her feel like she was slowly melting away.

Takumi visited the café. She was happy to see him, but she didn't act familiarly towards him, because the idiot trio was in the place, too. She still remembered how those boys had found out about her job.

_"Why the hell are you coming with me? It's not like someone's going to kill me in the daylight!"  
"But I want to see you in a maid dress again", Tora's teasing voice was enough to make her blush. She hated that her boyfriend still had to make fun of her job.  
"Shut up! You can't talk about… my job in school that freely", she hissed, glared him for a moment, and then, started walking. "Hurry up, Tora."_

_They walked to Maid Latte hand in hand - even though Misaki had protested like her life had depended of it. The boy had insisted that it was only normal for couples to walk like that, and so, after a long time of arguing, she had realized that she was going to be late from work if she didn't just obey him. So, there they were. The girl felt extremely ridiculous._

_They managed to arrive to the café just a few minutes before Misaki's shift started. Tora went to the tables and waited for someone to bring him a cup of tea , and the girl disappeared to the staff's room to change into her costume and comb her hair. She heard some familiar voices from the hall where the costumers were, but she didn't really pay attention to them. Probably just some costumers who visited really often. But when she realized that the voices were talking to someone even more familiar to her – her boyfriend – she furrowed her brows. Did those people know Tora from somewhere? His friends? He couldn't possibly have told to anyone about her job in Maid Latte…_

_When she walked to the hall with Tora's cup of tea in her hand, she noticed that three boys were talking to him. When she was close enough to see their faces, it was too late for her to turn around and go away – those boys had already noticed her. The three idiots from her school, who were always making her want to kill someone, saw her, and now, she felt like she wanted to vanish into thin air. She was embarrassed._

_After she had placed the cup of tea to the table, she turned around the meet the tree idiots' eyes. She forced a big, kind smile to her face, but gave them an icy glare. Then, she asked if they needed something – a table, cups of coffee, maybe?  
_  
As irritated it made her feel, she was happy that they started acting like some crazy fangirls instead of telling to everyone in school about her job. She remembered how nervous she had felt under their gazes, and after standing under their eyes for thirty seconds, she noticed that the boys were blushing and blinking furiously – they even stuttered when they tried to answer to her. She was kind of surprised to see those boys in the café next day, too. When she asked how they had come to the café, they told her – hesitantly – that they were following her and Tora since everyone wanted to know how they acted when they were alone and what they did together. They had earned a horrible glare from her.

Takumi gave her a look, which she couldn't properly understand. She just decided to let it slide and walked away from the man to take an order from some other costumer – after all, it was her work. Maid Latte was rather full today, so she had a lot to do.

She worked hard, as always. Takumi kept his eyes on her all the time, and she felt a little uncomfortable under them, because she knew that he was observing her, and probably thinking why she was a little distant. He had noticed the distant look in her eyes even at school when she walked past him in the corridor. He thought that the look had something to do with the new boy – what was his name again? Sanshita? – and didn't like of that.

Finally, when it was her time to go home, the couple met behind Maid Latte. Misaki gave him a small smile, and uncertainly, took his hand. He glanced at her, a little surprised, but gave her hand a gentle squeeze and smiled back to her.

She felt so calm and safe with him, yet there were always the little bubbles in her stomach when he touched her. His smile was enough to lift her mood, and his presence only made her know that she was okay. Why she felt like that always around him, she didn't know. She didn't feel that way around Tora when they were dating, so why did she with Takumi?

At first, they walked in a comfortable silence, and the younger one looked like she was in deep thoughts. Her face was serious now, and her eyes weren't looking precisely at anything. She just looked forward, though she didn't really focus at anything. Something was again rolling inside her mind, and Takumi really wanted to know what.

"Are you okay?" he asked. His voice was warm and friendly, and it made her come back to the earth. She nodded quickly and gave him a smile, again.  
"Yes, I'm okay. I'm just thinking."  
"About what?" He was curious.  
"About things… I'm not really sure. I'm thinking about many things."  
"Like… ?" Oh yes, he really wanted to know.

She shrugged her shoulders and turned her eyes away from his direction. What was she thinking about, really? Memories of her family haunted her – her family used to be so happy, so complete, and thinking about it hurt -, memories of her childhood days to this day filled her mind – her childhood friends, like Hinata, how she started school, how her family dealt with Sakuya's death – and memories of Tora, for some reason, popped into her mind, too.

She thought many times why she had been with him. She had always known that he was kind of mean and selfish, but nonetheless, she had dated him. She had really had some feelings to him; he had been there for her when her mom was depressed and Misaki was exhausted and sad. He had a good side in him, too. Even though he was an idiot, he could be sweet and kind, too. Her co-workers used to ask her why she was with him, because they hadn't seen the sweet side of him.

"I was thinking about my past", she told him after thinking the answer for his question, and he didn't look pleased with that answer – if something, he was even more curious now.

They had known each other for a short time. They really didn't know a lot about each other's pasts or families, but it didn't really bother them. They knew that those things would come up at some point, so they didn't see any reasons to really talk about them – well, as long as the things weren't something what could infect their relationship in any way. And if there was something they wanted to know, they could just ask.

"Want to share?"  
"Maybe later."

They chatted the rest of the trip about some random things. They wondered why there were (are) different religions, and how they had born, they shared thoughts about politics – well, the girl didn't know much of them, so he had to tell her something – and they stepped into Takumi's apartment. Going there after coming back from Maid Latte felt natural, and it was already a habit to them.

While he was preparing something to eat for them, she thought about the first time she visited him. It wasn't even a long time ago. That day she had been so sure about not letting anyone get close to her, and now, she was dating someone and wasn't afraid of letting that someone know about her life. It was funny how fast her thoughts had changed, but it didn't really matter to her. What mattered to her now was that she knew that there was someone who she could share things with.

When the food was ready, Takumi sat next to her to the couch and they both started eating. He gave her side glances all the time – as he had already, kind of long time ago noticed, she was really cute even while eating. When she took too much food to her mouth, her cheeks puffed and she looked really adorable. The man was not one to act or think like some lovesick teenagers or perverts, but being with Misaki had brought a new side of him to the daylight.

When they were done with eating, she insisted on washing the dishes. Again, he tried to protest, but she didn't give up in this. So, Takumi just watched as she did her things, and thought about how he should start the conversation about that Hinata boy. He had to admit, he was a little jealous. Just a little. It wasn't like he was even sure about the fact that the newbie had a crush on her. After all, those two had known each other for one day, right?

"So", he started, "the Hinata boy followed you everywhere today at school."  
"Yeah, he did."  
"Didn't he get any friends? And how come he didn't run away from you after hearing from the other boys about your wonderful demonic side?" he tried to sound not-so-curious, but it was kind of hard.  
"Ah, that. We were friends when we were little, and he said that he doesn't believe that I can be such demon. He probably thinks that I haven't changed since I was little."  
"I see."

Takumi was a little worried, though he didn't know why. Wasn't it just normal to be with a person you knew when you were new in school? He would have done the same thing if he was in Hinata's place. Maybe that Hinata was just too shy to talk to other people, or he didn't just want new friends. Or maybe he didn't care that much – maybe one friend was enough for him. He decided to push the matter aside and ask about someone else.

"Did Tora harass you today as well?" She shook her head.

Then, something clicked inside her mind. Something really important. That important thing was something she had to tell about to Takumi yesterday, but her thoughts had gotten interrupted when her boyfriend had kissed her – thinking about it made her cheeks redden a little – and she had forgotten about the whole matter.

"Eh… About Tora… ", she started, now watching her feet. Takumi raised his eyebrows, now feeling even more worried. He hoped that the rude teenager boy hadn't done anything more to her.  
"What is it?"  
"Eh… Umm.. You see… I accidentally, just happened, by mistake, to tell him yesterday that I have a boyfriend", she bit her lower lip, and raised her head to meet his eyes. He looked serious for a second, but then, he was smiling.

"Why are you smiling?" her question only made him smile wider.  
"Oh, nothing. It's just that there's nothing bad in telling him about that, as long as you don't tell him whom you're dating with." He patted her head, and watched how her expression turned from ashamed and maybe a little nervous to pleased. She nodded.  
"Right."

They spent next hour by sitting on the couch and talking about things – again.

She noticed that she was feeling rather sleepy, and after a while, her eyelids started getting heavier and heavier. Slowly, she closed her eyes and without even noticing it, she snuggled closer to him and ended up having her head resting on his shoulder and her body being pressed against his tightly. He let his arm go around her and if possible, he pulled her even closer to his body.

She wasn't asleep, but she wasn't awake, either. She was feeling so safe and warm now, her side against his. She listened his calm breathing, and slowly, drifted off to the world of unicorns and rainbows.

Takumi watched lovingly the sleeping girl's face with a small smile on his face. He placed a soft kiss on her hair and then, he gave himself a permission to rest his head against hers and let himself close his eyes as well.  
**  
This was a boring chapter, sorry.**

**Everyone might already know, but reviews are welcome, as always. c;**


	11. Chapter 10

**Hayface asked if I am religious, and I decided to answer here because… well, I don't have any reasons not to answer. I don't really believe in God or gods, but still, I belong to church because my parents do believe. Religions are an interesting topic, and I like to talk about them with my friends (that's probably why Misaki and Takumi talked about them, too).**

**This is an unnecessary chapter, but I felt like writing something like this. This is a bit shorter than usual, sorry…**

**And yay, happy birthday to me! :3 (Well, actually, my birthday is tomorrow.)**

Tenth chapter

Misaki wanted to hug someone. She wanted to feel someone's warmth, she wanted to hear someone's sweet words, and oh, she just _needed _someone. And she hated that need so much. She hated being a female. She hated periods, because she was too whimsical and cuddly when she had them. Her moods could change from really happy to the angriest person in the world in a matter of seconds. She hated that. But she liked ice cream. And chocolate. At least right now.

"Stupid hormones."

The rest of the first week at school had been uneventful. Now, it was Friday afternoon, and she was laying on her bed and staring the ceiling without blinking. There was an internal battle going on inside her mind, and she was getting frustrated. She didn't know whether to go and buy some chocolate or just eat something from her almost empty fridge. She was feeling too lazy to walk to the grocery store, but she was pretty sure that she didn't anything good to eat in her fridge.

"This is so annoying", she mumbled to no-one in particular.

Also, she wanted to be social, but at the same time, she just wanted to lay on bed and eat something, maybe even study a little (though she would probably get bored while doing that). She wanted to go out, but she wanted to drown herself under the sheets. She wanted to see something else than the white ceiling, but she didn't have the will to move her head even a little.

A groan escaped from her mouth. She threw her arm on her face to cover her eyes, and then, she sighed, for the umpteenth time.

Misaki took deep breaths and tried to think about something else than food or being a female. She thought about school; Hinata had followed her at school today, too, but luckily, Tora hadn't talked to her at all. Though every time she saw him, he was looking at her with those demanding eyes. Okay, thinking about Tora made the girl get even more annoyed. What else could she think about… Well, Ta-

Someone rang the doorbell, and the teenager fought against the urge to punch something. Her doorbell sounded suddenly really annoying, and it made her eyebrow twitch as she stood up from her bed. She lazily walked to the door, mumbled something about chocolate, and placed her hand on the knob and pushed the door open to see who was standing behind it.

She couldn't help but smile a little smile when her brown eyes met his green ones. Seeing him made her mood lighten up a bit, so she stepped aside to let him walk inside her little apartment. Then, without any words, she walked back to her bed and sat down.

"I didn't know you were coming today", she said after watching as he took his shoes off. In Misaki's apartment, she didn't want anyone to use shoes. They dirtied everything.  
"You seemed a bit moody today at school, so I thought it would be good to check if everything is okay", Takumi answered, and a small smile found its place from his face.

She, on the other hand, looked offended with those furrowed brows and thin-lined lips. She was not a little child, she didn't need anyone to check if everything was okay with her, and she especially didn't want to feel like her boyfriend was her father or big brother - and that, exactly, was what she was feeling right now. She was almost an adult, and didn't need to be taken care of (though Takumi had already once taken care of her when she was sick…)!

"Yeah, well, I'm totally fine", she snorted, "so you can go now."

Takumi looked at her for a while, but then, he chuckled lightly. He was right – she was rather moody today. His chuckling just made the girl even angrier – he saw it from her twitching eye -, and he didn't really want to fight with her right now. Also, he had thought that the couple could spend time together now, when the weekend was starting.

He followed her to her bed, but didn't sit down; he felt more comfortable while standing with his two legs. Also, it was easier to kiss her forehead when he stood; he just had to bend down a little and press his lips above her furrowed brows.

"But I want to spend time with you", he said after pulling away from the girl who was blushing madly and trying to look like she didn't like the attention she was getting from him.

Misaki pretended to consider his… suggestion for a while, but in reality, she had already decided that they would be doing something together. Being alone was just making her too bored, and she couldn't even focus on studying when she craved for sweets too much. Really, she didn't usually even like sweets that much, but for some reason, every time she was on her period, she just wanted to eat every single sweet thing she could think of.

"Well, I guess I have nothing better to do", she sighed, still feeling a bit angered because the man had come to her only to check if everything was okay with her, "But no funny business, okay?"  
"What do you mean? I never do any "funny business"", he smiled, looking really pleased. Misaki was acting strangely today, but well, it was really entertaining and the older one could even guess the reason for her not-so-ordinary acting.

They decided to go out. At first, the girl didn't want to, but when he asked the reason she didn't just want to say "I'm too lazy" or "I don't want to move" or "the only thing I want to do now is to eat chocolate and cuddle right now, so don't make me move or I'll kill you", so she just shook her head and stood up. She didn't really know what they were going to do outside, but she guessed that they would just do things randomly or just walk and enjoy of the fresh air. Also, she decided that she would at some point go and buy some chocolate to make herself pleased.

The autumn was getting closer and closer in a hurry; the trees' leaves were turning red, orange or yellow and some of them had already found their ways to the ground. It was not as warm as it had been during summer vacation; the cold wind could already make her shiver under her thick jacket, but it made her happy. She liked autumn, because it was not too cold or too hot, and it rained a lot (and as everyone probably knows, she loves the rain).

There were not many people on the streets; people had hobbies on Friday evenings, and the weather was not the one that most of the people preferred – it was windy, and it drizzled a little. It was not really sunny, either, because the clouds were covering the sun. Some of the street lights were already on, and they casted shadows behind and in front of the couple's moving forms.

The only sounds that could be heard were their faint footsteps, wind, and the leaves waggling in the trees, and the two of them didn't want to break the silence, so they didn't talk much. They just kept glancing at each other, and every time their eyes met, Misaki blushed and looked like a to- strawberry (Takumi decided that strawberries were cuter than tomatoes, so calling her a strawberry was more suitable). They walked hand in hand, and the girl didn't even seem to notice it; it just felt so natural to her. Sometimes, he gave her hand a squeeze and as an answer, she squeezed his hand even tighter, and it almost hurt him. She thought it was a competition, and he was fine with it. She was just too cute.

When they walked pass a kiosk, the girl said that she wanted to go there, and that he was free to stay outside and wait for. He insisted on going with her, so now, there they were, staring all the different chocolate bars and wondering, what kind of chocolate she should buy now – well, actually, Misaki was wondering about that, and Takumi wondered about how she hadn't shown any signs of liking chocolate before and why she was spending so much time with thinking about what kind of chocolate to take.

"Mint chocolate… ? Well, maybe… Or maybe I'll just take normal milk chocolate", she mumbled to herself, not even realizing that the man was still standing next to her and listening to her blabbering. After considering for a few minutes, she finally decided to take a bar of milk chocolate and so, she walked to the cash desk to pay the thing she had desired for a long time. Though when she was paying the chocolate, Takumi handed some of his own money to the cashier and earned a glare from his girlfriend. Oh, he knew that she was going to complain right after stepping out of the kiosk.

Right when the kiosk's door closed, Misaki turned her eyes at him and glared like he had done something horrible like cheated on her – he would never do such a thing – instead of buying her some chocolate. Seeing her like that made him wonder how she would act if they would have a little fight – or even better, if he would just buy her a birthday gift… She was just so weird. And he liked the weirdness so much.

"You idiot", she started, "have no rights on buying anything to me! I don't like being indebted to anyone –"  
"You're not indebted –"  
"Don't interrupt me! Really, do you think that I can't afford something as cheap as a chocolate bar? I really don't like owning to other people", - he almost tried to say something again, but remembered that he had just interrupted her and said exactly same – "And it was just a chocolate bar!" she kept complaining about the same thing for a moment, and when she stopped, she crossed her hands over her chest, sighed, and then, started glaring daggers at him again.  
"Understood?" He didn't answer, but instead, started talking on his own.  
"If it's just something as cheap as chocolate bar, there's no reason for you to own anything to me, right?" She didn't have an answer to him, but she put her hand on her pocket, grabbed something from there, and then, handed out to him 130¥. He just ignored the money and started walking towards the building where they lived, knowing that she would follow. She cursed under her breath angrily and followed him.

When they were walking to the building, they talked about random stuff. Takumi wanted to know more about Hinata – she didn't know why, but nonetheless, she told something to him when he asked. At some point, Misaki's hand found Takumi's own, and so, they were walking hand in hand, again. Then, they started planning what they would do later tonight. When they reached the building, they knew what they were going to do; Takumi would go and get his laptop from his place, and then, he would go to Misaki's apartment and they would watch some movie from his laptop. It was nothing special, yet she had a tingling feeling of excitement on her stomach.

So, she went to her apartment to wait for him to come, and she decided to put something else on; after all, it was not really comfortable hang out in the jeans and the thin t-shirt she was wearing. Sighing, she went to her closet, and pulled out a big t-shirt and shorts that almost reached her knees. She thought that it was okay to wear something like those; they didn't show too much skin, she didn't feel too cold or hot in them, and what mattered the most, they were comfortable.

Right when she had pulled the comfortable clothes on, she hear knocking from her door. She allowed herself to smile before opening the door for her boyfriend. He, too, had changed out of his black jeans and grey jersey, and was now wearing sweatpants and a white t-shirt. She saw his well-toned chest through it, and almost drooled while watching it. Staring something like that was not Misaki-like, so she shook her head and tried to hide her blush by watching anything else than him. He, of course, had already noticed her staring and the blush adorning her cheeks, and he had to smirk to himself.

Since she didn't even have a couch on her apartment, they found themselves from her bed, lying next to each other. She felt the familiar warmth burning her face, but she hid it by placing her jaw on a pillow and drowning herself in its softness. She was lying on her stomach, and he was lying on his side, so he could have a better view of her. He preferred watching her instead of some movie.

"So, what movie are we going to watch?" Takumi asked, not really caring about the movie. She tried to shrug – it was hard when she was lying on her stomach.  
"I don't know. I haven't watched movies much, and I don't know any good ones, so you can decide", she muffled on her pillow, and he hardly understood her.  
"Well, at least tell me what genre you want. Romantic –"  
"No, no romance… How about comedy or action?" He nodded, smirking for the umpteenth time today.

They ended up watching a movie called _The Heat_. It was a good movie – according the comments – and neither of the two had seen it before.

The man didn't really focus on the movie – his eyes kept glancing at the girl next to him – and he didn't really care. Misaki was just something better to look at.

When the final texts started, she was half asleep. She snuggled closer to his radiating warmth, and in no time, she found her head pressed against his crook of neck and hands on his hard chest. He had his arms around her, and he couldn't help but smile. When she would wake up, she would probably blush and look like the strawberry she was.

As he stared her calm expression on her face and studied her beautiful features, he started thinking about how they had ended up to this position and how happy he was feeling right now – he had never, ever been as happy as he was with her. As cheesy as it sounded, he loved her, and couldn't probably live without her anymore.

It was weird to think that they hadn't known each other even for one month, and yet, they were already dating. Even weirder thing was that he knew he was in love with her. He hadn't known before that his love was so easy to earn – he had thought that it was almost impossible for him to even like someone -, but now, when he had met Misaki Ayuzawa, he knew that his love was easy to get. Well, only if the person who wanted his love was Misaki (though she had already gotten it without wanting it).

His eyelids got heavier and after fighting against them for a while, his eyes closed. He listened to her calm breathing, and slowly, he drifted off to sleep.

Her apartment was quiet; the only voices were the couple's matching breathing as they inhaled and exhaled at the same time and the faint raindrops hitting against the apartment's windows. The rain outside wasn't horrible; it was refreshing and calming.

When Misaki woke up, she felt strangely warm and nice. She was leaning against something – or someone – and that someone's warmth made her feel safe, as someone's arms – wait, arms? – were around her waist. She just wanted to snuggle closer to the warmth, so she curled into a ball to get closer to the warmth. So comfortable… Why couldn't her bed be always this wonderful… ?

She was just happily falling back asleep, when she heard awfully familiar chuckle, and her eyes flew open.

"What the fuck?" she mumbled as she recognized Takumi's, her boyfriend's face. When she registered the position they were in, she hurriedly sat up and stumbled as far from his as possible, only to find her back against a cold wall. He just smirked as an answer, and looked like he was going to do something… sneaky.

Before she realized it, he was leaning towards her, and his face was just inches apart from hers. In less than a second, his lips were pressed against hers. She hesitated for a moment, but then, she found herself responding his kiss.

It was sweet kiss. It was not hungry, needy or even that passionate, but it was sweet. It made her feel loved.

When they pulled away from each other to gasp for air, she was blushing deep red and again, looking like a strawberry. He couldn't help but smirk wider.

**This chapter's original idea kind of disappeared but… well.**


	12. I'm sorry (read this, please)

**Hello everyone! I know that I haven't been active updater. I'm truly sorry for that.**

**But you see, I have been a bit too down lately. And as many of you probably know already, only thinking about the problems of life can make a person tired. School makes me even more exhausted than I am because of my personal problems, since I'm trying to get better grades than last year.**

**I guess that starting this story was a bad idea, because I knew at start that at some point, I can't just write something like this. I prefer writing something more personal to me, and since I have no love life and drama's the thing I know the least about, **_**His beloved student**_** is not a story that I can write easily. I'm more interested in mental problems and well, there was a time when I liked writing fantasy. Drama… is not my genre, I think.**

**I'm not saying that I'm going to stop writing this. I'm pretty sure that there will be a time when I get my inspiration and eagerness back, and when I do, I promise that I'll at least try to write a new chapter to this story. I may start writing a new story soon, but if I do, the story will be different from this one…**

**I can't believe my story has gotten 93 followers, 53 favorites and 139 reviews. I'm really thankful! I hope you all will remain there, and as rude as I might sound, I hope that you all will wait for me to get my inspiration back. Thank you!**

**I have to say this one more time; I'm really, truly sorry.**

**This is really rare occasion, so please acknowledge that I'm sorry for putting this story on hiatus… Here it comes: *hugs you all* (really, I don't even hug my siblings after not seeing them in six months if it depends on me).**

**I'm so stupid. I sent you the hug by hugging my laptop.**


	13. Chapter 11

****

**it's been a long, long time since i last talked to you. i felt like writing about these characters today after watching a few episodes of KWMS, and here i am, updating a chapter to a story i have not touched in a long time. this chapter might be a bit different from others as i have written a lot and my style has changed almost completely. also, if you find some conflicts between this and the earlier chapters, i apologize - i really don't remember anything from the older chapters.**

**i'm really sorry for being away for so long and i'm even more sorry for saying i don't know when i'll update again. but i'm also really thankful for all of you - i have gained many followers and reviews and a few messages, too, and they have all made me smile. also, thanks for all the hugs i got back. c:**

**please enjoy!**

Eleventh chapter

Misaki, Takumi thought, was an interesting person. Although she was hard-working and strong, she was also really kind-hearted and sensitive. She offered smiles to strangers, tried to help anyone in need, did her best in everything and got embarrassed really easily, but she also had enough skills to lead a whole school, carry people who weighed twice as much as she did and make even the coldest people shiver in fear. And despite all her flaws and the things she could do in another ways, in the end, everyone seemed to like and respect her.

Sometimes he wondered if anyone else knew her like he did, or if others knew her like he didn't. He knew she liked running in the rain and acted carelessly when sick, but for example Tora and Hinata knew what she was like when she was little and what she was like with her family, and he knew he wouldn't be finding those things out in the near future - if ever.

But what he valued the most was present; Misaki, falling asleep in his arms and maybe drooling on his shirt a bit, waking up and massaging her eyes with tiny hands, watching his sleeping face while being unaware of the fact that he was awake, blushing and avoiding eye-contact after being caught from doing so.

"Why didn't you tell me you were awake, you idiot!" she scolded, sitting up to look somewhere else than her smiling boyfriend.

"I like being watched by you", he replied, voice a bit raspy after sleeping. Misaki gave him an annoyed side-glare and crossed her arms.

"Pervert. I have always known you're a —"

"But aren't you the pervert? I mean, I'm not the one watching someone while they're sleeping…"

"Wha—? Huh? Me? A pervert?" he was sure she was trying to search for a comeback, but in the end, she just muttered quiet curse words directed at him while getting up and stretching.

Takumi, as a full-grown man and a person in a relationship with no more skinship than little kisses and hugs, enjoyed the view of his girlfriend bending forwards to try to touch her knees and then standing as tall as possible for her and trying to reach the ceiling with her hands, leading to her shirt hiking up a bit and revealing some of her soft-looking skin. Her positions revealed a bit of the figure she liked to cover in comfortable (big) clothes and well, he wasn't complaining. Unless someone other than him saw her like that.

(**A/N**: i just want to say: objectifying women is wrong, objectifying anyone is wrong, Takumi's and (possibly other characters' too) thoughts are sometimes wrong. my thoughts and opinions are not the same as the characters'.)

Yes, he admitted quietly for the umpteenth time in his mind: he was a pervert. A big one.

Only now Misaki realized it was not late evening or even night; it was morning. A bright, lively morning with a soft autumn blow and a few fluffy clouds. And oh, her boyfriend could almost see the horror in her amber eyes as she took in the fact that she did not know whether school had already started or if she had enough time to eat breakfast and change back into her school uniform.

He watched how she looked for her phone in pure panic, running from place to other in hopes of seeing the little device she could check the time from. And yes, he knew really well the thing was resting on a table next to his bed, but he was waiting for her to see it without giving her any hints of its whereabouts.

And after a minute of looking for it, she turned around to ask about it from him and noticed it. She gave him an icy glare - really annoyed, probably because of the possibility of being late - and snatched it aggressively, checking the time and sighing in relief. She had more than enough time to go to her own apartment and change into school uniform and eat some cereal or something.

But she was still annoyed at Takumi.

"You told me you'd wake me up before midnight, didn't you?"

"I believe I did." He got up, slowly, and pushed his hair back a bit to get a clear vision.

"So why didn't you?"

"You were sleeping so peacefully, I couldn't bring myself to wake you up", she was already blushing, "plus, what's so bad with sleeping at your boyfriend's place? Especially when I live right next to you."

"W-well, you could… have done s-some things to me…"

She was really innocent for an eighteen-year old teen who had had another relationship before. He didn't mind, her bashful reactions were cute, but sometimes he wondered how it was possible for someone like her to be like that.

"Things like… ?"

She was red again, blushing, looking like a strawberry with those heated cheeks and burning ears.

"N-nevermind."

And so the day started.

Misaki left for school earlier than Takumi and hurried to the student council room, early as always, to fill her duties. Of course Hinata appeared almost immediately and took a seat as close to her as possible. It had became a habit for him, and she was too kind to tell him to fuck off and let her have some space. Anyways, he didn't bother her too much - he didn't bother her and didn't really do much. The other members of student council had already gotten used to him, and sometimes they gave him some errands to run as it was known that he didn't really mind helping.

"But Hinata, why are you always here?" Yukimura asked curiously, sitting next to the other boy since he didn't have any duties at the moment. "It's not that I mind, I'm just curious.

"We all are", others agreed, but Misaki just kept her eyes on the paper in front of her and didn't take part in the conversation.

"Isn't it obvious?" Hinata started with a goofy smile, "it's because I like our president."

Misaki kept her eyes on the paper.

"Huh? Since when?"

"Well, she's my first love. I've known her since I was a kid."

"HUH?" a series of questions followed after his words, and the person the questions were about massaged her temples in irritation.

"Are you sure?"

"What was she like when she was younger?"

"Did she yell a lot even then?"

"Was she a strong kid?"

"How did you meet?"

Before he could answer, everyone felt the icy glare of the student council president on them.

"Please do not talk about me so freely. If you have something you want to know about me, ask me. I do not promise to answer everything. And Hinata, don't say things without thinking about the consequenses."

The room was silent again, but many glances were changed and a few words were mouthed. Hinata didn't know what she was talking about, but he decided to let her do her work. She seemed to be in a bad mood.

"Sorry, later", he mouthed to everyone and turned back to watch Misaki.

After the commotion in the student council room all students gathered in their classes and started lessons. Misaki tried to keep Hinata's confession out of her mind, and she believed it was just a joke of some kind. Sighing heavily, she took out her books and absentmindedly chewed on a pen.

Unfortunately Takumi was teaching Misaki's class at the moment, and so he noticed how she wasn't giving all her attention to the teaching. Above all else, he was worried for her as her boyfriend, but of course he had the responsibility to take care of his student, too. But he didn't say anything. He decided to ask her when at home after the end of her shift.

As the day went on and on, Hinata's words left her head and she was again giving all her attention to everything. She noticed Tora giving her obvious long looks and she did her best to avoid his eyes too. She also thanked herself for doing all her student council duties in the morning so she didn't have to stay at school near to him, sensing that he wanted to say something, maybe even talk with her about something she didn't want to talk about.

When school ended, she picked up her bag and took her time walking out of the school building; she bit her farewell to her friends Sakura and Shizuko, quickly visited the student council room to tell some of the members to work hard and then left some books on her locker since she didn't have any homework to do and no exams to study for.

But on her early steps towards Maid Latte Tora appeared next to her, and she almost wanted to sprint away from him with all the strength and speed she could muster up. However, she decided not to pay any attention to him as long as he wasn't saying anything, even if he tried to get her to acknowledge him in other ways such as staring her or closing the gap between their sides bit by bit until there was only a couple of inches at most between them.

"Are you avoiding me?" he asked with a little smug grin on his face.

She just nodded.

"Why?"

"I have no desire to interact with you. Please refrain from making me talk or even look at you", she didn't even bother to look at him - she just kept walking with a straight face and a fast pace. Tora was quiet for only five seconds.

"Well", he hummed, "you shouldn't have said that."

She turned to look at him - just a bit - and raised her other eyebrow to indicate him to explain.

"You know I love annoying you. Getting your attention", his grin grew, "is my pleasure."

She ignored him again.

He followed her to the café and wanted to order something, but fortunately, the other maids were more than happy to serve him in Misaki's stead. They exchanged bits of smalltalk - after all, Tora had grown quite familiar with her colleagues as they used to be in a relationship - and Misaki was glad for having such good friends at her workplace.

The idiot trio was present today as well, and she preferred serving them over serving Tora. All the curious and love-struck boys shared glances and stared the lonely Tora with no shame, and to be honest, Misaki hoped he was feeling at least a bit uncomfortable under the idiots' eyes. She even gave them a kind smile, followed by quiet swooning.

Aoi was in the café, too, and he shot Tora hateful eyes and sometimes even had staring contests with him. Although Tora hadn't done anything bad to him, he still felt bad for Misaki as he knew they wouldn't have broken up without a proper reason and he had, in fact, heard the reason for their break up. Tora was a bastard, Aoi knew it.

She saw Takumi passing by the café, but when he noticed Tora and the idiot trio - four people from their school, one of them being really dangerous considering their relationship - he kept walking and disappeared in a matter of seconds.

When her shift finally ended, she changed her clothes lazily and packed up her things without hurry. Walking home didn't seem too appealing to her, but of course, she had to do it. So she just procrastinated a bit. Just a bit.

Though when she exited Maid Latte a smile found its way on her face faster than ever before, but she tried to hide it by sealing her lips together as tight as possible.

"What are you doing here?"

"I thought it would be nice to walk together. Also, I want to sleep with you tonight."

"What?! What? How shameless can —" her face fell the more she yelled, because she realized he had teased her again.

"Is there something bad in sleeping together? I mean, we do it pretty much nowadays. Sleeping next to someone is healthy."

"Yeah. Whatever. Just know I'll force you to sleep on the floor."

They walked in a comfortable silence. It was a dark evening and the wind was getting heavier. Misaki was only wearing a sweatshirt and jeans, so it was only normal for her to feel a bit cold and shiver from time to time.

Too bad Takumi noticed.

He took off his jacket - it was just plain black but somehow managed to look too good on him - and offered it for her. She shook her head.

"Put it back on, you'll be cold without it."

"If I get cold, I can just hug you when we sleep. It's okay."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

She ended up wearing it.

The rest of their walk home was filled with a sulking Misaki, cold fingers and hand-holding. They talked about school, Tora, equality, seasons (mostly about fall). They also pointed out some nice things like street lights and funny shadows, a snail and a bird neither of them recognized. They predicted weather, and both of them were right; "It's going to rain", Misaki said, and Takumi told it was just going to be a short shower. (Of course he was right - he taught science!)

When they got home they parted for a while - both of them went to their own apartments, took showers and changed their clothes into pj's. For the sake of Misaki, Takumi wore a shirt and some long, loose pants, albeit when he was alone he only slept in his underwear. When Misaki knew they were going to sleep together, she wore an outfit similar to his instead of shorts and a loose shirt.

He rang the doorbell to Misaki's apartment around nine o'clock, and they ate some fruit before laying down.

"Hey, pervert, keep your hands off me", she murmured when he tried to take her in his arms, and he frowned.

"But I'm feeling cold."

"I don't believe you."

Almost like as answer to her, he coughed.

She snuggled closer to him and let his arms embrace her.

"I still think you're a pervert. Luck is just on your side", she mumbled, but smiled at him a tired smile and after a long time of thinking, she pressed a kiss on his lips, and his showed a little of the surprise he was feeling. She blushed and when she couldn't find any other place to hide, she just pressed her forehead against his chest and tried her best to say with a normal voice "good night".

He laughed quietly and smiled warmly, pressed a kiss on the top of her head and recalled doing it many times before.


	14. Chapter 12

**every time i take a look at this story i cringe and close the tab as fast as possible. i'm so embarrassed. his beloved student is everything i would laugh at if i read this as someone else than myself - the plot is so ordinary, things happen in a strange pace, characters are not what they are like in the anime/manga, there are wrong words in wrong places because english is not my mother tongue, jokes are something people do not laugh in any other places than in my home country (and maybe not in here, either) and the text is so forced. i hate this so much.**

**but i still know how to write. my bigger problem is that i don't know what to write. i have absolutely no inspiration when it comes to this story.**

**so, i'm really sorry to all of you. 131 lovely readers - how has this story gained that much of you? i feel like i'm wasting so much by not updating this story. i love your reviews so much, too - you're all so kind to me and always just complimenting his beloved student.**

**okay, i'm going to be honest: i was going to be the selfish person i am and stop writing this, but after taking a quick look at the reviews i decided otherwise: i'm going to try again. (and as a pessimist and also as a "busy" student who has to keep her grades up, i have to admit: i believe this is not going to end up well.)**

**and i have another problem: i keep wanting to write another story, but knowing me i couldn't keep that alive, either. but please do not hate me if i publish another one, because i'm a weak fragile human being who can be put down by people i don't even know. (lol)**

**also: i want to make clear to you that even though this story and probably many other stories as well have really jealous and possessive characters, it's not okay. objectifying, manipulating and controlling people is definitely not okay.**

**i hope you like this chapter - after getting started, i really had fun writing this!**

Twelfth chapter

Somehow, she always ended up staring at his sleeping face.

He was undeniably handsome, but when he was awake, she was too embarrassed to just admire his face. So now, when he was sleeping in front of her, letting out those soft breaths and— moans? Why was he moaning?

Now that she paid attention to it, his breaths were a bit heavier than they usually were. Furrowing her brows, she tried to pry away from his hold - he had this quite affectionate habit of holding her in his arms while sleeping - only to feel… something not so familiar poking her abdomen.

Was this… ?

Her face turned red in a matter of milliseconds.

This was what the kids called a boner.

She stiffened immediately and was left in a rather awkward position. She wondered what would be worse - just letting him dream until he's… done or waking him up and eh, meeting the even needier than normal Takumi. Watching his face without blinking, she swallowed slowly and tried to think of the best way to escape from the current situation.

Making up a cowardly plan was not her favourite thing to do, but she found the topic of sexual needs too awkward to bring up, so she just swallowed her pride. Careful not to disturb him and his… fantasies, she slowly backed away from him and fell from the bed with only a small thud emitting from the happening. She stayed on the floor on her all fours, just raised her head a bit to check that he was still asleep. Fortunately, he was still in a deep sleep. She sighed out of relief and grabbed her phone and her keys from the nightstand. After that, she crawled away as fast as possible, stood up only when she reached the door which would lead to the hallway and put her feet into her white slippers. She just stood in the lobby for ten seconds, holding her breath and listening to the deafening silence, trying to find out whether he was still asleep or not. Asleep, she decided and opened the door as quietly as possible and escaped from his apartment.

Only when she was in her own apartment, she let out a heavy breath and just stared at the nothingness. After one minute of her own peace, a shaky laughter filled her condo. What had just happened and why had she done that? The past five minutes had been hilarious.

In all seriousness, she knew that she wasn't giving enough to Takumi. He was an adult, and he definitely had some sexual frustration going on. While he hadn't said anything about it, she knew well that everyone, especially young men, had their needs. She had had a talk about the same topic with Tora not a long time before their break-up happened. It had been awkward, but it had opened her eyes a bit more, but also made her even more conscious of things than she had been before.

And to be honest, she had her own needs as well. Being a late teenager, she had been exposed to lust even more than a few times. But she had self-control, so she hadn't done anything she would possibly regret later on. And —

She knew she shouldn't, but she was going to ignore the whole topic.

Misaki took a quick shower, cold water was a good way to wake up in the morning and to wash away all the thoughts she didn't want to welcome. After that she brushed her teeth, put on her school uniform and packed her school bag.

She didn't have appetite yet, but she for the sake of coping at school, she ate an apple and took another one for her to munch on if she got hungry at some point during the school day.

When her phone buzzed and notified her of a new message, she almost jumped. Subconsciously she had been waiting for a text from him all morning, but when it really came, she just wanted to pretend it didn't exist. Why was she feeling so awkward?

Nonetheless, she grabbed her phone and opened the message.

_Where are you? I woke up in an empty bed after so many shared mornings and I feel lonely. Are you okay?_

_\- Takumi_

A blush crept on her face and she couldn't help but smile at her phone. Biting her lower lip, she pondered about a good answer that wouldn't be too much of a lie.

_I woke up earlier than you and remembered that I had something important to do. Didn't want to wake you up, sorry. See you later?  
\- Misaki_

Takumi smiled lazily and answered her, adding few heart emojis to the end of his text. He didn't really like those colourful additions in texts, but sending hearts to her and imagining her blush was a fun and cheap activity he liked to perform.

He was pretty sure he knew why she had left, but he didn't want to pressure the topic any further. He knew she wouldn't leave anything important to mornings - she was really responsible, sometimes even a bit too responsible.

But really, her bashfulness made him laugh even when he didn't see her reactions. Just imagining them was so much fun. There he was again, imagining her being all stutter-y and looking like a strawberry. She was always a strawberry, really. He was sure she even had the same sweet scent as strawberries did.

(Deep down he was a bit worried: Had he made her a bit too uncomfortable? At least to his knowledge she was really innocent, could also be described as "pure". Had his body's reactions been too frightening to her? Knowing Misaki, she would pretend that nothing had happened.)

… Really, what a thing to think about early in the morning. He had to get ready for work.

The school day had passed normally enough. Now it was lunch break, and Misaki was just standing on the rooftop and watching the horizon with dreamy eyes. She breathed in and out, enjoying the fresh air and the way it made her feel clear. Everything was clear.

Until…

"I knew you'd be here."

Until she heard Tora's voice.

She turned around in a blink of an eye and met his smirking face with an angry one.

"Why were you looking for me?" she asked, using as cold tone as possible.

"Relax. I want to talk. I'm not going to jump on you or anything", he assured, his voice being earnest enough to get Misaki to believe him. She nodded, slowly, feeling suspicious.

"Go ahead, I'm listening."

"Promise me not to get angry or yell at me or anything like that?"

"I'm not promising you anything. Say what you want to say and then please leave me alone."

His smirk just widened a bit, until he made it look like a more friendlier smile. It was the kind of smile she remembered seeing on his face when he watched her do something she liked - when he saw her practising aikido, learning something really interesting, making bunny apples for her sister and being appreciated for the things she did. And because of that smile, her shoulders got less tense and her narrowed eyes opened to their normal state. She was being naive, she knew it, but she couldn't help it - this was her long-time friend.

He took a few steps to close the huge gap between them. There was still a respectable distance between them, so she didn't say anything.

"I want us to be friends again", he sounded so sincere, "you know, we used to be like best friends. Now I have nobody. But your mom still calls me and asks me how I'm doing, so I take that you haven't even told her that we are not even talking to each other. And sometimes I look at the pictures of us, read through the post-it notes you used to put everywhere in my room and read our old text messages talking about something as irrelevant as penguins and wonder: just when did we become a couple and forget that we are friends as well? I miss those times, Misaki. Can't we go back?"

She was silent for a long minute, trying to drive away the urge to cry and tell him that she does miss those times too, because he was the only one who stood by her when her family was a wreck and she couldn't bond with people.

"No", she said with a stern voice, and watched how his face fell before continuing: "We can't go back, Tora. But we can be friends again, and who knows, maybe we'll be best friends again someday. But I'm sure you understand that I can't trust you, not at all, not after what you did to me. And there's this underlying anger I'm still trying to hold in, so if you ever mess up again, I won't hesitate to fucking beat you up and send you to hospital."

They glared each other for a while.

Until they both burst into a fit of giggles, sounding like little kids.

And she felt so shaky and so relieved at the same time, and she just wanted to run to Takumi and tell him that she had gotten her friend back, that she had (at least almost) gotten over being cheated on, that she felt even lighter now.

But after they both calmed down, she just smiled at his new old friend and felt her world seem even brighter than before.

Takumi glared the blond-haired boy who had just talked to his girlfriend like she was someone he deserved. The man didn't know which was worse: Knowing that the guy had other intentions than just being friends or that he couldn't even show that idiot that Misaki was his and his alone?

How did she and Hinata end up being the only ones in the student council room? She had no idea, and she was not too happy about it; He was, unfortunately, not the same kid she used to know. Of course he was still clumsy and loved eating and of course he still looked at her like she was the leader of the world, but now his eyes had more shadows and now his mind had many different ways of working instead of the way he had learned from being with her.

"Misaki? You know, I'm serious about the first love thing", he mused, and she tried not to show how surprised she was. She was really bad at that; she turned her face towards him, watched him with wide eyes and tried to comprehend what he had just said. He smiled warmly, and she thanked him mentally for at least having the same goofy smile as he had had as a kid.

"So, please, see me as a man."

And he didn't seem to want to be only a follower anymore.

"I-I'm sorry."

What was wrong with those hormonal teenager boys today? Takumi waited for Misaki to answer the puppy somehow, but she seemed to be too confused to understand that she was supposed to say something else than just the weak "I'm sorry" as if she had something to apologize for. He clenched his jaw, threw an angry look at the brunet boy and forced himself to walk away from the door of the student council room.

Misaki hurried to Maid Latte - she was two minutes late already. She had been too dumbfounded to do anything after hearing Hinata's confession, so she had left from school way too late and she had to run to work as fast as it was possible. Luckily for her, she was physically fit and could run even long journeys with no problem.

"Sorry I'm late!" she panted when she finally reached the café. Satsuki wasn't mad at all - she just shook her head with a small smile on her face and told her that it didn't matter, there were enough people at work anyway. At that moment, she was really thankful to have the friendliest boss ever.

She quickly changed her clothes and headed to the hall, ready to meet familiar faces and greet new customers. What surprised her was that there were no familiar customers; the idiot trio was absent and so was Takumi. It really disappointed her - whenever the trio was not at Maid Latte, Takumi was there to watch her work and do some work of his own as well. But today… he was not there. Was something wrong?

"Don't be stupid", she muttered to herself, "You're not his life. Of course he doesn't come here every day."

But still, she felt a knot tighten in her stomach. Anxiety? Over a thing like this?

"I'm such an idiot", she tried to laugh it off, gaining a few weird looks from the customers and her co-workers. She grinned at them and then escaped to do some work.

"He will be there when my shift ends. Of course he will."

She left Maid Latte with an enthusiastic smile on her face.

He wasn't there.

The smile melted away. She sighed, cursing herself for being so disappointed over something like this. Of course he couldn't be there everyday, it was obvious.

It had been a long time since she had walked home alone. It could have been comforting and calm if she wasn't so worried about her boyfriend and their relationship. She spent the half of the trip thinking about him, and the other half about how she was so stupid because she got worried over something like that.

When she entered the elevator she quickly took her phone from her pocket and checked if there were any messages from him. Not even a single one.

She finished her homework and checked her phone for the umpteenth time in ten minutes. He had not contacted her. Not even a message. Why? Had something happened? He was always texting her, asking her to come over, telling her that he'd make dinner or anything. But he was always the one who contacted her first. Now starting a conversation sounded so unfamiliar to her, she couldn't bring herself to do it.

But she really wanted to see him.

She looked around her apartment, trying to find a reason to ring his doorbell. (She did have a key to his apartment and he did have to her's as well, but she found the idea of entering his condo without his permission really unnatural.)

Bingo! She had his shirt. Not because there was some stripping or anything like that involved, but because she had slept in his shirt after spilling some hot chocolate on her own pyjamas. She had taken it home this morning in the midst of being too shocked of his wet dreams.

(How desperate had she grown to be?)

She rang the doorbell while nervously biting her lip and tapping the floor with her right foot, waiting for him to open the door and— Well, she didn't really know how he would react. She hadn't shown up behind his door without an invitation before.

It didn't take him a long time to open the door - again, it felt like he was actually waiting for her to come looking for him. She tried to find some explanation for her sudden visit, but just decided not to say anything when he stepped aside, indicating her to come inside. His expression was unreadable, and it made her even more nervous than she was before.

She didn't even know what happened and how she ended up being pinned against a wall, all she knew was that she had his mouth against hers and this was the roughest kiss they had ever shared.

"Taku—", she tried to speak up, but didn't get time to spent on speaking when he was so needy, almost desperate but still so possessive with his other hand holding her wrists above her head and other against the wall, trying to support them.

She was momentarily even frightened; he had never been so rough, so inconsiderate of her. But she knew she could get away from him if she wanted to and she knew that he knew it too, so she decided to let him do whatever he wanted as long as he didn't push her limits too much. After all, he wasn't the only one getting pleasure from this.

He pulled away from her to let them both gasp for air, made eye contact with her to make sure that everything was okay, clearly trying to control himself from doing anything she didn't want to happen. She swallowed and nodded - it was just a small movement, but enough to make him continue.

They were both getting so hot and Misaki's face felt like it was on fire, but she didn't even have time to think about her own embarrassment as he went on to place butterfly kisses on her jaw, on her neck, on her collarbones and almost lower until the girl in his hands grunted in the midst of her panting to tell him that it was not allowed. He took his time kissing her neck, and she didn't take a note to wonder what he was doing while just enjoying herself to the fullest and trying not to make any embarrassing noises.

His lips returned back to her owns and his hands found her waist, pulling her as close as psychically possible.

"I see", he whispered between his pants, "that… you have… been… biting… your lips…"

He nibbled her lower lip - gently, careful not to cause any bleeding, but enough to make her gasp.

Going back to peck some lighter kisses on her jaw, he brought his mouth closer to her ear.

"Promise me", his breath tingled her neck and sent shivers down her spine, "to not let… anyone else… but me… bite them…" She couldn't muster strength enough to say anything even close to intellectual answer, so she just hummed while trying not to moan - she would be too embarrassed to even look at him if she did that, she knew it even while feeling like she was in heaven because of the sins that would take you to Hell (if she believed in those things anyway).

He was on the edge of losing control, ready to do everything he had ever thought about doing to her. Her adorable little moans she was so hard trying to keep unheard by him were just encouraging him to do whatever he wanted to, wanting to make her make louder noises that she couldn't prevent from escaping her mouth.

His hands almost sneaked up her shirt, but they were interrupted by a loud growl.

It took them a few seconds to understand what happened, and when they realized it, Misaki's face grew even hotter (if possible) and Takumi started laughing - loudly, uncontrollably.

"Are you hungry?" he managed to ask while slowly pulling his hands away from her waist. She nodded, not looking him in the eyes, clearly embarrassed. (It just made him laugh more.)

When he finished laughing, he pecked her lips and took her hands on his owns, leading her towards the kitchen.

"You're lucky I knew you were coming."

They slept well and Misaki was the last one to wake up. And oh, was she shocked to see how late she had woken up: she had only fifteen minutes to proceed her morning routine. So, she didn't exactly take a look at the mirror, and Takumi didn't bother telling her anything.

"Misaki! Good morning!" Hinata was being a puppy again, it seems. He appeared next to her while she was walking towards the student council room and she waved at him but didn't bother to say anything. She felt bad for rejecting him yesterday.

The just called girl greeted everyone as she sat down on her own place in the student council room. For some reason, everyone seemed to be sneaking glances at her quite frequently, and she was feeling a bit exposed. Those people didn't usually mind looking at her like that - sometimes they even avoided landing their eyes on her, or at least that's what it felt like. She was feared by them, she had always guessed. It bothered her - not a lot, but a little. But now that they didn't seem scared at all, she was starting to feel scared on her own, and she found it somehow sick.

She reads fiction too much, she decided.

But as the glances kept coming to her direction, she heaved out a breath and raised her gaze from the papers on the desk to the room full off people.

"Why are you not focusing on your work? Do you have something to say to me or do you want me to say something or whatever, just why are you all constantly glancing at me?"

Yukimura was the first one to react in a way or another. A blush similar to the one she wore earlier appeared on his pale face, which just made the president raise her eyebrows higher. Indicating someone to tell her what was wrong, she looked around the room, trying to make an eye contact with everyone for a second or two.

"Well?"

Hinata looked at her for a long time enough, so that he noticed what everyone else was looking at already. He blushed like Yukimura - out of anger or embarrassment, he didn't know.

"It's just that…", someone started, but then decided not to carry on. That just angered the president more, and she glared diggers towards the person who hadn't finished his sentence.

She felt too exposed, too embarrassed. Why? Because those guys kept looking at her like they knew too much about her and she didn't even know what they knew.

"Please, keep going", she commanded, the authority evident in her voice.

"You have a huge hickey on your neck."

**okay, i'm not going to lie, this took a lot of time to finish but making this was much funnier than i thought at first. also, i'm sorry if this wasn't something you were expecting and i'm sorry for my poor writing skills especially at the make-out session - this was my first time trying to write something like that.**


	15. Chapter 13

**THANK YOU FOR THE REVIEWS AND LIKES AND FOLLOWS AND EVERYTHING, you gave me some motivation to keep writing this! honestly, you're all so sweet. also, i'm sorry for not answering to your reviews - i'm a bit bad with people. even on the internet.**

**i don't know why i'm telling you this, but i changed my url. i was afraid some of my real-life friends would find me. also, i keep having problems with this site, so sorry if this looks a bit stupid.  
**  
**i'm scared someone will see my browsing history; i don't want to explain anyone why i was looking for excuses for hickeys. (so glad i have my own laptop.)**

Thirteenth chapter

"You have a huge hickey on your neck."

Her hand, which was previously holding a pen, flew to hide the place they were so intently staring at. Color rose to her cheeks fast, showing a new and strangely cute expression to the student council. Hinata looked dumbfounded, but if you looked close enough, there was a hurt look in his eyes.

"I-it's surely not a hi-hickey", she stammered, avoiding their curious eyes, suddenly looking interested of the old posters of Seika Festival on the wall. Someone scoffed, and for the first time, wasn't silenced by the scary glare from the Demon President. Then, a heavy silence fell upon them in the room, and she wanted to be swallowed by the ground at that moment. As the rude boys' eyes were not leaving her, she tried to make up an excuse.

"Spiders!" she blurted out rather loudly, now making everyone seem even more confused than before. For a second there, even she was surprised of the sudden outburst, but she was also the first one to recover quickly.

"Umm… I mean, I have no reason to be explaining this to you", she started, still obviously flustered, "but since this turned out to be such an embarrassing situation to you guys, I'll tell you. A spider bit me."

She saw some questions blossoming, but she narrowed her eyes challengingly and just like that, the room was quiet again. (Someone was definitely quivering in fear.)

.

True to their words, there was a huge hickey on her neck. She stared at the mirror with wide eyes, reaching up to let her fingers trace over the dark area. And she was so embarrassed - not only because someone had seen this, but also because she had really let her boyfriend do this to her and she had actually enjoyed it. So, so much.

Takumi was in trouble, she angrily thought, clenching her jaw. That guy had the nerve! What the fuck was he thinking? She was sure he knew about the hickey - hell, he did it on purpose, she knew it! And he didn't even bother to tell her about the bruise that probably covered half of her neck (well, maybe she was exaggerating a bit).

Well, she wouldn't definitely admit it, but it was nice. It was nice to know that _he_ had marked her as his (even though thinking that way made her lose a bit of her pride - hadn't she told Tora that she wouldn't belong to anyone?).

But now, she had the biggest problem she had had in a while (a while could be… sixteen hours?); she had to hide the hickey. While her friends liked make up, she had not been introduced to those things too well and she especially didn't carry them around with her. So, she had to get some help from her strawberry blonde friend - she would certainly have something with her.

She sent her friend a text, and Sakura appeared before her eyes in a matter of few minutes. Misaki thanked quietly whatever power that had left the ladies' toilet empty and watched as her cheery friend stared at the purple area on her neck. Her reaction took a long time to happen, but when it did, the smaller girl gasped and raised her eyes from her friend's neck to her eyes.

"Who? Tora?" Ah, it seems that not many were aware of their break-up, the brunette realized as she wondered to herself if she had informed anyone at all about the fact that they were no longer romantically involved.

"No. But lets not talk about this topic, I just need to get this covered up. Please?"

Sakura shook her head, mumbled something under her breath and looked through her bag to find some high coverage foundation for the hickey.

As she did her magic putting the bruise under a disguise, she started talking: "You know, Misaki, you still don't let me in. And I assume I'm one of your best friends and it feels kind of unfair as I tell you everything about my life. I don't even know how you and Tora are doing or where you work, if you even do work and -"

"I'm sorry, Sakura. It's just that… I'm not a person who shares her life and, well, those are kind of touchy subjects…"

"I'm your friend! You should be able to tell me everything!"

Seeing Misaki fall silent, Sakura decided not to press the matter any further. She would just let it go - her friend's life was not hers anyway, she thought angrily as she finished applying the foundation.

"Done", she spat out quietly and quickly packed up her things and hurried out of the toilets, leaving a hurt girl staring after her. Great, after being humiliated in front of the people she was supposed to lead (in a way, anyway) and getting mad at her boyfriend she also got into an uncomfortable situation with one of the few friends she had. She willed her tears to stay in her eyes as she breathed in and out, trying to steady herself.

She was having a bad day.

.

As she had thought earlier, it was a bad day. Bad enough for her to be lashing out to anyone who did anything even a bit wrong, and then immediately apologizing and telling them to try and do better next time. It was a bit odd, seeing her apologizing to people for her uncontrollable temper, but most were just pleasantly surprised by it, letting her mistakes go by mere smiles and promises of better. Maybe the Demon was finally calming down a bit after such a long time of screaming and a little violent actions.

She was ashamed, so very ashamed. She didn't know why - was it the stress or the shame or just being tired in general - but she seemed to be on the verge of tears no matter what she did.

Hinata had taken a great distance from her for the day, and for that, she was grateful - she did not want to yell at him as well. (Though she couldn't help but wonder what was that made him not follow her around like a puppy. Even thinking about this topic made her eyes water even more.)

Lunch breaks seemed to be really eventful for her nowadays, she complained in her head when she sensed someone entering the student council room. Pushing back her tears - she really hated them, those betrayers were always trying to show themselves to the world - she raised her gaze from the papers in front of her to meet with familiar eyes.

"Thought you would need something to eat. Knowing you, you haven't brought anything with you even though you have a long day."

He was holding a protein bar and a cup of some hot drink - it was probably coffee with a few cubicles of sugar and lots of milk (he knew how she preferred her caffeine) to keep her awake - and for a moment there, he had a happy smile on his face, until he noticed her glassy eyes and slightly rosy face. If she wasn't in such a mood, she would have laughed at the way his expression fell.

"What's wrong?"

The question and the worry in his eyes were enough to make the tears spill, and she wanted to hide under the table and just pretend that she didn't exist for a while. She was so embarrassed, she didn't even have a reason to be like this. The thought made her cry even more, and she shook her head and bit her lower lip - once again, even though Takumi had told her not to let anyone else than him do it -, trying to keep her sobs unheard by anyone.

She didn't even notice how he moved closer to her, but she found herself in the arms of her ex-boyfriend and she didn't even bother to push him away from her. The familiar warmth and touch, even though not something that belonged to her anymore, was comforting in its own way. She hadn't even missed him too much because she had someone else's hands to hold, but she admitted to herself in the quietest place in the back of her mind that she didn't mind having something she knew from a child next to her again. His embrace was something she had known for years, and feeling it again made her calm down a little.

"Want to talk about it?" She shook her head, again.

He stroked her hair, telling her that whatever it was, it was going to be all right. At that, she let out even more tears, because she didn't even know what that whatever was because she was just crying. Crying because she was confused, crying because she was angry, crying because she was embarrassed, crying because she felt like people were leaving her, crying because it was nice to have someone to lean on.

She was too invested on crying that she didn't notice how someone entered the room, looking at the two and noticing how close they were. Those green eyes stayed on the two of them, turning angrier and more narrow by seconds.

"Is something wrong in here?" his voice, usually full of warmth when talking to the fierce brunette, was now cold and even intimidating to her ears. Tora turned around, but she didn't have to - she had already realized who it was. She just didn't know why he had stopped by, why he hadn't just walked past because they were at school and why his voice was colder than the iceberg that made Titanic sink.

Misaki tried to take distance from Tora, covering her face with her hands, but the boy wasn't letting her go - instead, he only tightened his arms around her, watching how their teacher's jaw tightened even more and how the glare he was sending to the younger boy seemed to turn into daggers. If looks could kill, Tora would be long gone now, and the thought made him chuckle - well, he had to keep himself from doing so because he was in a serious situation right now, but he would have chuckled if there was nobody to hear it.

He had just realized something really important. That something had been nagging in the back of his mind for a long time and it was about the particular teacher with blond hair and emerald eyes.

"Our president is having a hard time, as you can see", the tiger said, watching the older man with a challenging gaze, ignoring her muffles against his shirt

Daggers. So many daggers.

"Shouldn't she just go home?"

"You know, _my_ Misaki doesn't give up so easily", he had to control himself when he felt a satisfied smirk working its way onto his face when Takumi's fists clenched. Misaki managed to finally pull herself away from him, and she tried to make an eye contact with her boyfriend.

"I see, then please calm down and get ready for class. It's not appropriate for people - much less the president - to be… like this in the student council room", he said with a stern voice, gave his girlfriend a look that told "we are going to talk about this later" and "you're so in trouble" and disappeared from their sight.

She still felt like crying, but after being looked at by Takumi in a way that made her feel so guilty, she quicly wiped her tears from her face and tried to offer Tora a smile.

"Thanks", she said in a hoarse voice and decided not to press the expression "my Misaki" and the way he had pulled her closer when she had tried to get away from him.

"No problem", he smiled and extended his hand to ruffle her hair, "just know that you can talk to me anytime."

Her smile grew more genuine and a blush adorned her cheeks. He sighed, finally feeling content.

"Glad to see you like this again", he said, tenderly, and her blush grew even more evident. Even though the air between them grew a bit awkward, she was glad that he was there with her. For her. She had missed her friend.

.

The last class of the day was English. She was going to watch Takumi talk to the mass of students for the next hour, and well, she was a bit scared since he had seemed really angry for some reason earlier. Or maybe he was just concerned for her? She couldn't decide which was worse, but concern was something that was a part of a relationship, so she hoped that that was it.

He was early in the classroom - as always. He greeted the students in English, but didn't bother to ask them how they were doing, unlike usual. He always asked them about their day or their wellbeing and sometimes asked people to share something about their week. Today he just went straight to the point.

Another thing that she noticed was the fact that he didn't let her answer to any of the questions, even though there were times when she was the only one who raised her hand, ready to answer in her fluent English that had only improved after meeting Takumi.

He completely ignored for the first forty minutes of the lesson, but when it was time to go home, he shot her a demanding look, telling her to stay. She bit her lip and at least pretended to pack up her things, waiting for other to leave the room.

She was pretty sure he was going to ask her what was wrong with her and why she was crying earlier, and she readied herself for some explaining and hugs. His comfort. And- oh, she had to talk about the hickey. He had to be confronted.

When the room was empty, her boyfriend closed the door and switched the lights off - he was not going to get caught by someone who thought he had left the lights on in an unused classroom. He looked around and made sure that there was no way someone could see them - the windows were behind curtains and the door was closed and there was no security cameras in the classroom.

She just watched him without a word, waiting for him to address her first. She was a bit scared and she didn't know why, but somehow this situation also made her a bit excited. They usually were just a teacher and a student at school, but she knew they were not going to talk about her perfect grades here.

There was a moment of silence between them and she watched as he leaned on the teacher's desk, table - whatever it was - and turned his eyes to meet hers. He did look angry, and she had no idea why.

"Come here", his voice was stern, demanding. She swallowed and started taking slow steps towards him, leaving her school bag on her place.

(He seemed even sexier than usual with the way he was acting, and she wanted to slap herself for thinking that way.)

She was clearly avoiding making eye contact, even though he was looking at her without unnervingly. She stopped when she was standing in front of him in a respectable distance, but he closed the gap and she could practically feel the warmth radiating from him.

"Look at me", he commanded, and she shivered at his voice. Swallowing again, she raised her head slowly and stared back at him.

"I'm angry. Do you know why?" he asked, not taking his eyes off her.

"It's kind of evident. I don't know why, though, because I'm the one who should be angry. And I am", she answered, unconsciously touching the covered hickey with her fingers.

"You don't know?", he asked, the anger growing even more evident in his voice. When she didn't answer, he repeated the question.

"No, I don't. Care to share? You know, it's a thing in relationships-"

"Says you", he growled, inching even closer to her. She knew she was making the situation even worse, but she couldn't help it; she raised her other eyebrow, waiting for him to explain further.

(It was strange, having him be the angrier one. She was so used to being the one who was yelling and accusing the other one, but today she was really drained after lashing out at people earlier and then crying so much and he seemed like he couldn't even control himself.)

"I can't tell if you're clueless or just really shameless", he said with a voice that was shaky from the anger, and she felt the guilt making its way into her. It was strange, since she didn't even know what she had done wrong to make him like this.

"Tell me what I have done, because I have no fucking clue", she spat out, trying to drive the guilt away. She didn't deserve it.

It seems that her words just made him angrier.

His eyes grew rigid and narrowed, and she didn't even realize what she was doing when she took a step backwards, feeling almost threatened when so close to him. But he grabbed her wrists, holding them tightly, even though she didn't pay attention to the discomfort - pain? - she felt.

"Tell me, Misaki, what would you think if you saw me in someone's arms, crying, after just spending a night with you - a night, when I could have told you what's wrong?" he asked, tightening his grip on her wrists. She fought back a wince.

"I would ask you what's wrong! That's what I would do! I wouldn't just make up some conclusions and get angry!" she accused him indirectly, growing more annoyed and nervous. She was pretty sure she was lying - knowing her personality, she would definitely feel betrayed by something like that, but she would definitely not get angry like he did!

"We both know you wouldn't! Don't you know how bad it seemed - you in the embrace of your ex-boyfriend, who kissed you not long time ago? And you crying in his arms? And you still had the nerve to talk to me about sharing", he sounded so angry, but he didn't yell, which intimidated her even more.

"Don't talk like you know everything! We are friends now, and friends can offer a shoulder to lean on when you're not feeling too good. And sharing? Nothing was wrong when we were together. It just came suddenly, and I can't just come up to you at school and cry to my _teacher_!" she yelled, quite quietly, because she remembered that they were not at home but at school, which was the worst for the couple that had to keep their relationship as a secret.

"Even then, he called you his. And _you're mine_", he whispered, loud enough for them to hear, and the end of his sentence turned into a growl. She shivered.

"Friends can say that. And I don't belong to you, I belong to myself!"

"But _you do_", his dominating voice sent even more shivers running up her spine.

"And for the record, friends can't say that. Especially not that slimy bastard, who looks at you like no friend should and touches you so freely even after you two have broken up and you clearly have moved on."

"Don't talk about my friends like that", she spat out, and that definitely didn't make him happier.

"Just a few weeks ago you referred to him as a bastard as well, don't you remember?"

"Well I changed my mind - he's not as bad as I've made him seem."

"You're right. He's worse."

"You don't even know him!"

"You're the one who doesn't know him - you're a poor judge of character. I can see right through him."

Clearly offended, Misaki tried to struggle out of his hold. If her hands were free, she would slap him. Hard.

Of course he didn't let go. If something, he tightened his grip on her wrists. He stepped closer to her, and she backed away. He kept stepping closer and making her back up until her back hit a desk, and he lifted her to sit on top of it. She was still trying to make him let go, but failed quite obviously, as he was clearly stronger than her and bigger in build.

"Let go!"

He leaned close to her so that his lips were not far away from her ear. She wondered just what he was doing, and she wanted nothing more than to push him away… though, this situation was making her a bit hot.

"You covered it up", it wasn't a question, it was an accusation. She took a while to realize what he was talking about it, until it hit him.

"Of course I did! I was so embarrassed when people noticed it! You did this on purpose, didn't you? Why? To humiliate me? You can't do something like this! I'm the student council president, for God's sake, I can't be seen with something like this on my neck!"

"I marked you. You're _mine_."

"Stop saying that! I don't belong to you!"

"You do."

He pulled away from her neck and looked her straight in the eyes, and the look in his eyes made her feel guilty. He had a bad habit of manipulating people, especially his girlfriend, but he couldn't control himself when it came to her. She had to know.

"I do?" she asked, after finally letting go of most of her anger, still feeling like she should be angry.

He nodded.

"I don't belong to anyone who doesn't belong to me."

"Isn't it quite obvious that I belong to you?"

"Is it? Do you?"

"It should be. Of course I do."

Somehow she blushed only now, angry at herself for letting him change the topic so easily and feeling bashful just now, in the middle of a conversation. She was also asking herself why she wasn't trying to get away from him anymore, but somehow this situation was too… pleasurable? She hated herself for thinking that way, but her thought quickly disappeared when his lips were pressed against hers, and they were lost in a kiss.

He was fast to dominate her, feeling way too passionate to let this be only one kiss. Anyway, there was something really exciting about doing something like this at school, where getting caught could be the end to his career and her reputation.

He pushed her backward so that she was lying on the tables that were pushed together, and for a moment, he just admired her. Her hair was already a mess and her skirt was riding up her thigh, exposing him lots of her skin. She looked helpless and a bit lost, as if waiting for him to do something. Her half lidded eyes were directed at him and the blush on her cheeks spread to her ears and neck, which led him to look how her chest was rising and falling as she was breathing heavily - just like he was, but more - after the kiss they shared.

In a matter of few seconds, he straddled her and found himself kissing her glossy lips once again. Roughly, if one must say, but she realized she was enjoying herself.

"Didn't I tell you to not bite your lips?" he asked when pulling away to let them both gasp for air, and she blushed even more and turned her head away to avoid his gaze. He wasn't having any of that, though - if she didn't offer him her lips, he was going to kiss some other places. (Perv.)

He unbuttoned the first button of her shirt, waiting for her to react in some way, and to his delight, she nodded shyly, giving him a permission to unbutton more. He planted light kisses on her jawline as he kept opening the buttons. He stopped unbuttoning them when she grunted softly, which was just when he was able to see a bit of her bra. She liked pastel colors, he mused as he eyed the pastel green piece of fabric.

His lips found her neck, and without minding the accusations he heard not many minutes ago, he sucked a bit again, making sure that these hickeys were going to be covered by the collar of her shirt. He didn't want to have a fight again, even though he thought the hickeys just made her even more beautiful and more desirable than she already was.

She moaned.

It surprised them both - Misaki was clearly embarrassed and she wanted to cover her face, and she technically could since he wasn't holding her wrists anymore, but she didn't because she was afraid he would then stop and look at her face, which was probably not the most beautiful one as she imagined that she had a double chin and very, very red cheeks. Takumi smiled against her skin and encouraged by her moan, he made his way lower and started peppering kisses on her collarbones.

She was going to be completely covered in hickeys and she was probably going to hate him for them, but the thought about making art on her skin just made him want to keep on making them. Misaki, not remembering or at least ignoring her boyfriend's earlier words, bit her lower lip to prevent any other embarrassing noises from escaping.

She didn't know when, but her hands were in his hair, wanting, _needing_ something to do. She tugged his hair gently and he realized she wanted to feel his lips against hers. Pleased to see her growing a bit more comfortable and bolder with him (even though she was cute with her bashful reactions what he was waiting to see even more in the future), he slowly kissed his way back to her lips.

He deepened the kiss by letting his tongue enter her mouth when she gasped for air, and she didn't know if she should be embarrassed but didn't really have time to think about that.

His other hand touched her thigh, and the place he touched felt like it was on fire, even though it sent shivers running around her body. She was hot and bothered, but couldn't do anything about it as she was enjoying herself a bit too much.

Someone knocked the door.

Funny how just a small sound could stop them.

Misaki pushed Takumi away as if he wasn't making his way off her already, and she scrambled up and with wobbly legs, she hurried to grab her bag and tried to look for a place to hide. Meanwhile, Takumi steadied his breathing and ruffled his own hair a bit, trying to make it seem like he had been on the verge of falling asleep on his desk or something like that.

He opened the door - not wide open because Misaki had found such a bad place to hide (she was squatting behind a cabinet) - and faked a yawn before meeting the eyes of the person behind the door.

Tora?

**i don't know how i managed to make such a scene so un-sexy.**


	16. Chapter 14

**sorry for so late update… again. procrastination is a big problem of mine - almost as big as this story. i could just rant for an eternity about things that annoy me about this story but well… i'll just wait for someone else to point them out.**

i'm not going to promise you more frequent updates as that would be just telling lies, but i'm very thankful for those who wait for new chapters to come. i really, really appreciate you all. thank you!

Fourteenth chapter

xxx

Tora?

Saying that Takumi was surprised would be exaggerating, but he really wasn't expecting that rude blonde boy to show up at his door at school. Well, not that he had expected him to show up anywhere near himself as long as Misaki wasn't involved. But oh, it was quite possible that the brunette was the very reason Tora had bothered to stay at school and actually meet up with the teacher he seemingly didn't like too much.

"I would like to talk to you", the younger one confessed with an obviously fake smile on his face and stepped aside, "and I think we should get out of this school to have this conversation." He kept his eyes locked on Takumi's green ones, and the older one wondered just what made those yellowish dark pools look so ominous. It was very clear to him that he was not well-liked by the rich boy.

Not being one to make things difficult at his own work place, Takumi shrugged and turned around to grab his briefcase - he didn't really like using it but it was practical enough - and put on a coat since it was a bit cold outside. Tora had time to look around the room and it didn't go unnoticed that the hard-working teacher had been in a dark room. Probably not doing anything that a teacher should do, he thought as he remembered his teacher's dilated pupils, heavy breathing - at least heavier than usual - and even messier hair.

They made their way out of the building in silence, both having their thoughts wandering around in very similar things - mainly around Misaki, a bit around themselves as well. It was not a pleasant silence; in truth, the tension between the two males was quickly building up, making their muscles tense and gazes harden.

Tora led the two of them to his car and told his personal driver to exit the car for about ten minutes as the matters he was going to talk about were very private. They got into the car and didn't waste any time before Tora opened his mouth.

"I am aware of your and Misaki's relationship", he announced, very much sounding like he thought he was superior to everyone. Actually, maybe he thought that way.

"I guessed that much." But it didn't make the sweating of Takumi's palms any lesser or the rhythm of his pulse any slower. He forced himself to get his confidence back and keep up his apathetic, unwavering front. It wasn't too hard; he was very used to his own stoic face.

"So you're not going to deny it?" Tora's voice was a bit humorous - after all, he was finding this situation a bit amusing. Though he was a bit disappointed to see that Takumi was not showing any hints of weakness on his face.

"That would be insignificant, wouldn't it?" It was not a question.

"True. I guess we are on the same page then."

They studied each others' expressions for a while there. The corners of Tora's mouth were quirked upward - he was having fun - but his eyes were a bit narrowed and even though he was obviously trying to hide it, he looked a bit angry. Takumi's face was even more stoic than normally, but the swallowing he tried to prevent gave away his nervousness. Seeing the teacher nervous made Tora proud of himself.

"I'm not going to out you to anyone, because as much as I want you to suffer, I don't want to make Misaki hate me. And well, it would do no good for her future." He was probably expecting Takumi to thank him, but as the other did not open his mouth or show any reaction at all, he started speaking again: "But I asked you here to inform you about the fact that I know about you two and that I can destroy your lives by just one phone call. And also, Misaki is very much mine; I'm going to make sure of that."

"Good to know", Takumi snorted and got ready to exit the car, "but I think you have misunderstood something", he opened the car door and stepped out, "the only one Misaki can belong to is me."

Tora looked at Takumi with his cocky smirk on his face.

"Time is on my side."

The person with the green eyes left without a goodbye.

xxx

Takumi didn't bother going back to school after his and Tora's little conversation; he knew that Misaki had headed to her own apartment. He almost ran to the building they both lived in and didn't bother waiting for the elevator. Instead, he climbed the stairs faster than the elevator would get to their floor and pressed the doorbell of Misaki's apartment as soon as he reached her door.

_"Time is on my side."_

He had a steady personality and he knew how to keep his cool even in the most unwanted situations. Somehow the small brunette he was so fond of had made his balanced character a bit… for the lack of better word, unbalanced. Takumi's always so calm demeanor was shaking now after seeing the real possibility of his Misaki being someone else's or of their relationship being seen as something problematic, something wrong. Of course he knew why people found romantic - well, any kind of unprofessional - relationships between teachers and students inappropriate, but after experiencing it himself, he could understand all the short stories and novels about two people from different age groups feeling desperate over maintaining their relationship. Of course it didn't feel good to know that their relationship was a taboo, but somehow it had to be endured if you wanted to be next to the person you felt strongly about.

When Misaki opened the door, wearing a big t-shirt and shorts that didn't even reach her mid-thigh. As if her clothes - or the lack of them - was not enough, his observant eyes noted that the t-shirt she was wearing was his. It was pleasing to know that even when they were not together, he still existed in her life that sometimes revolved a bit too much around school and work. Takumi's unsteadied character gained a bit more balance back as his possessive nature celebrated.

He really wanted to pull her close to her and finally relax with the girl in his hands, but when he stepped closer to her she crossed her arms and show him a warning glare.

"You are not allowed to touch me before we have this conversation."

They both knew this was something important. Misaki usually avoided conversations that would make her feel embarrassed - and this was definitely one of those, at least that's what the redness of her cheeks and the way she avoided direct eye contact told. So even when he really wanted to forget the past hour and every negative thought that had passed his mind today by holding her close, he respected her demand.

Takumi invited himself inside and closed the door and let his eyes wander around his girlfriend's apartment. Unlike his, it was kind of full. It felt like home. His apartment had felt like a place he was residing in before meeting Misaki, but as she had became a part of his life, somehow his apartment had started to resemble a home more than just an apartment. He knew his apartment had been very neat and that it had had a very cold atmosphere in it, but as he had let someone as lively as Misaki enter it, the place had turned into something he really felt safe and comfortable in. But even though his apartment had turned into a nice place, he still found Misaki's even more lovely. Probably because there were traces of her everywhere - even if you closed your eyes, you could still smell her scent.

They sat on the edge of her bed and the girl made sure to keep a certain distance between the two of them. There was a silence, but he knew that it was needed. She was gathering courage to start the conversation and probably trying to control her mind - she was known for overthinking things like what happened at school before.

"Takumi", she tried to make her voice assertive - the kind of voice she used on delinquents at school when she had to scold them - but it didn't work too well. He acknowledged her by nodding at her, making sure to look at her all the time (even though she obviously felt nervous with his eyes on her).

"Umm… about these hickeys… You can't do them in places other people can see! Do you know how embarrassed I was at school this morning? And you didn't even tell me about it! It was humiliating!"

"So… As long as they're not in places other people can see, I can give them to you?", he watched her face turn redder and he felt the corners of his lips twitch upwards, "Right?" She bit her lip - again, he noticed - and of course, being the bashful Misaki she is, avoided his eyes as she nodded.

"Good", he smirked, leaning closer to her, thinking that the conversation was now over. He really wanted to enjoy the slight limitations he had just heard about, but she seemed to think otherwise.

"Our conversation is not over yet", she said as she pushed him away from herself. Really, it might have hurt his ego if he was not used to her being a bit shy. But sometimes he thought that he was going through puberty now - he had not had too many… needs when he was a teenager, but with Misaki, he seemed to want to touch her all the time.

"Tora is a friend", she started, "and I want you to treat him well and not say things like you did earlier. He texted me after seeing you", oh, true, she hadn't asked Takumi about what he and Tora were talking about, "and said that the teacher treated him rudely when he was only asking about some clarification about some essay he is supposed to write. That is not very professional of you."

Takumi took his time processing the words she had just said. So Tora didn't want to tell her about him knowing about the relationship between her and a teacher? And he was going to make the said teacher look like a dick as well. Okay. He could handle that much. Probably. As long as Misaki was by his side. Though he really didn't want her around the scheming idiot.

"I do not like him. At all", he answered with his stern voice, "after seeing how much he hurt you and how easy it's for him to still come and be next to you and be treated like a precious friend."

"He is a precious friend! Everyone makes mistakes, and anyway, it's not like he can hurt me like that again. I'm not with him, I'm with you_._ But he is a friend. A friend who has known me for _a long time_."

_"Time is on my side."_

Takumi sighed rather heavily and leaned closer to her, this time not minding her demands from before. She noticed the serious look in his eyes and didn't do anything to prevent him from getting closer; it was obvious that he really had something he had to do or say.

"I'm jealous, Misaki."

She blushed - from both anger and embarrassment.

"I'm telling you, there's no reason to be! I'm with you, Takumi, not with Tora." Her words soothed him a bit, but he still knew it wasn't totally unnecessary to be jealous - the younger boy had known her for a long, long time and he probably knew Misaki better than Takumi did. They shared many memories.

"But Misaki, he knows you from the past - I don't know how long you two have known each other, but it pains me to know that you two have so many memories together."

There was a silence for a time that felt very long.

"Tora might have my past, but _you_ have my present and _you_ have my future."

Takumi knew he had never smiled as brightly as he did now.

"Thank you, my love."

xxx

After Misaki had finished her homework and Takumi had made some dinner for the two of them, they were lying on her bed. As they had grown to have a habit of even sleeping over at each others' places, it was nothing for Misaki to be too nervous about, even though she was very innocent.

It was nice to have someone to sleep next to. Hearing the rhythm of Takumi's breathing made her feel calm and safe, and if she was sure that the older man was sleeping, she happily scooted closer to him and buried her face against his chest. In her well air-conditioned apartment it sometimes got a bit cold, and her boyfriend was an easy, free heater.

And on rough days like this, it was just comforting to be next to such a loving, warm presence such as Takumi. She quite wanted him to cradle her in his embrace, but she was way too embarrassed to even think about it. The day had been pretty full of different emotions, and it had made her really exhausted.

And… Well, the thing she had said earlier? The "you have my present and you have my future" thing? Immediately after saying those words she felt like she was going to die from embarrassment, but after seeing Takumi's smile, she knew that she had done the right thing. She had never seen such an expression on his face before, so she was quite proud and happy.

"You never told me just what led you to crying in Tora's arms at school today."

Oh, that. Umm…

"I just had a fight with Sakura and umm… yeah. That's it." She didn't really want to mention that she was embarrassed because everyone in the student council had seen the hickey on her neck and that the fight happened because Misaki couldn't tell her friend just who had given her that. The following hours had been a bit hard for her, and so, when someone finally asked about it, the tears forced their way out.

"Don't you want to talk about it?"

"Not really."

"Okay. Just know that you can talk to me any time." And that you fit far more better in my arms than Tora's, he added dryly in his mind.

"Yeah. Thanks, Takumi."

"C'mere."

"Huh?"

"Come here. You're tired, aren't you?"

She scooted over shyly and let him pull her as close to his warm torso as physically possible. Like he always did, he pressed a kiss on her forehead. A little smile played on her lips as she fell asleep next to the familiar warmth.

xxx

The next day Misaki didn't have work but Takumi had some kind of a teacher gathering at school, so they couldn't be together. It was okay, but to Misaki it meant that she didn't have food. She was used to having Takumi cook or eating some instant noodles, but as she went through her kitchen cabinets, she realized that the only things she had were some canned fruit and cereal. She didn't even have any milk to eat them with, and she wasn't a fan of so simple cereal without milk.

She was reluctant to go out, since she should change her clothes into something more presentable. Her glorious outfit consisted of the same t-shirt as yesterday - it was Takumi's, so she liked wearing it all the time at home - and sweatpants since the temperature of her apartment was low and she didn't have her heater (Takumi) with her. To make it all better, she had cotton socks to keep her feet warm.

When the doorbell rang, she lazily got up from the floor of her kitchen - she had stayed there, wondering if the canned fruit would be enough to get rid of her hunger - wondering who it could be. Takumi couldn't be the one behind her door, no matter how much she wished that. He had told her not to wait him before ten o'clock, and it was only five o'clock now.

She only now realized how much she depended on the other and just how much the couple spent time together. It was normal, right? And even if it wasn't it would be okay. The base of their relationship wasn't the most normal either after all.

Misaki opened the door, not knowing who to wait.

"Caught you by surprise, didn't I?"

There he stood, with his blond hair and yellowish eyes.

"Totally."

He really brought a nice smell with him to her apartment. It was extremely mouth-watering, and she found herself looking for the source of it. He was holding a huge pizza, and her stomach grumbled at the sight (probably for the smell, really).

"I figured you'd be home and I just thought about visiting you. We haven't really hung out lately", Tora smiled, and she nodded. She stepped aside to let him enter her apartment - she really hoped that there weren't any obvious traces of Takumi in there - and closed the door.

Tora sat on an armchair he used to sit every time he was at her place, and she smiled a bit when she remembered how much they really used to spend time together. Of course, not as much as he and Takumi did now - they lived next to each other and were dating, so it was quite hard not to spend time together -, but they really did spend their every free day together.

"I hope that pizza is for both of us", Misaki voiced her hunger after she made herself comfortable on her bed - it was not too far away from the armchair Tora had conquered. He answered with a smirk and started opening the pizza box. It was already cut in eight even slices, and so, he offered her the box so she could choose herself whatever slice she wanted to devour.

They ate and chatted and it felt like they had done the same thing just yesterday. Misaki was very glad to have her friend back, no matter how dick he had been to her and how much he had hurt her. They had been friends for almost seven years, and those years could get lost if they didn't hold on to the memories together.

"You're wearing a cool shirt, by the way. I have an identical one at home", Tora said, and Misaki immediately realized that she had Takumi's shirt on, "is that your boyfriend's?"

Oh, so he remembered how she had accidentally told him that she was dating someone. Not knowing what to answer, she just laughed.

"Well, it's not like that matters", he said, not really sounding like he meant what he said. Misaki didn't bother letting herself think about that too much - she thought she was reading into things too much anyway.

xxx

When the doorbell rang the second time that evening, Misaki was desperately hoping that it was not Takumi. it was only eight o'clock, so it was highly unlikely, but somehow she felt like there was trouble behind her door. Tora was not allowed to know about the relationship between her and her teacher.

She hopped off her bed, told Tora to stay where he was and walked to the door, trying to look as normal as possible. She took a deep breath before opening the door carefully to discover her boyfriend's smiling face. She raised a finger on her lips and shushed quietly, telling him to not say anything. A questioning expression made an appearance on his face.

"Tora's here", Misaki explained, trying to make as little noise as possible. Takumi's eyes weren't on her though, they were looking behind her—

"Who's there?" Tora's voice came from behind her, and the girl felt her heart jump out of her chest.

"I am", Takumi answered, looking straight at Tora.

Why was he still here? He should have disappeared as soon as she mentioned Tora's name, for fuck's sake! And he was even speaking to Tora!

"E-eh, this… This is not what this looks like!" her words came out as an incoherent mess.

"What exactly does this look like, _honey_?" Takumi's unimpressed voice questioned.

Fucking hell, they were getting caught. What was going to happen now? Well, Tora was a friend, so maybe he would understand her and Takumi's relationship but… She still couldn't help feeling a bit panicked, her hands getting clammier with each passing moment and the rhythm of her heart beating was not calming at all.

Takumi stepped behind the girl - who had at some point turned to look at Tora - and placed his arms on her waist. Misaki shot him a confused look and tried to step away, but the chuckle from the younger male stopped her on her tracks.

"No worries, I already know about you two", Tora informed, "and I promise, Misaki: I would never do anything to hurt you, so I will not be reporting anything about you two to anyone, even though I don't support your relationship. I'm sure that that old man is after something... physical."

"Wha—"

"Sex. Your virginity, Misaki."

"Wha-what! How can you— what? No, absolutely not! Takumi is —"

"Very much in love with Misaki."

xxx

"So, you knew that he knew about us already?" Misaki asked Takumi, trying not to think about what he had said before.

But really! He just said it like that, out of nowhere… How embarrassing! She could feel her heart beating every time she allowed her thoughts flow back to the moment he said those words. Of course, it was something that should happen in a relationship - being in love - but… Saying it so easily in a situation like that! So —

"I knew that he knew about us already but I thought it would be better if I didn't mention it."

"You should have told me! You're not —"

"I know, I'm sorry. It just felt like I was doing the right thing." And he thought that if Misaki knew that Tora knew about their relationship, he would become even closer with her. That thought did not please him at all - it made him even more jealous.

Misaki heaved out a sigh and massaged her temples. If her head wasn't aching like it was right now, she would not leave this argument - or whatever it was - so easily, but now she was just craving some medicine, lots of water and comfortable atmosphere.

"I'll go get you some medicine and water", Takumi said before pressing a kiss on the top of her head and disappearing to her kitchen. She decided to just wait for him to pretend to be her servant this once and sat on the edge of her bed.

Should she say that she loved him? But really, what was love? She knew she felt really strongly about Takumi, but was it love? She felt at ease with him, but when he touched her, she felt like she was on fire - well, in a nice way. When he did something embarrassing (to Misaki, talking about feelings and touching were pretty embarrassing things) her heart beat like a drum in her ears and she blushed. Well, really, she blushed with him all the time. He was such a jerk! Yet there she was, dating him… _Was it love?_

She had read books. In books, love was portrayed as something painful or something very beautiful. Love was not giving up on the other no matter the circumstances but it was still letting their loved ones go if they so wanted, because the other's happiness was more important than their love. It was often said that if you were in love with someone, you could not live without them, but that was obviously not true: Misaki had seen her mother pick herself up from the stairs down to the hell after losing her husband, and now Sakuya was a memory and maybe a part of every member of his family. Love was accepting the other's flaws and imperfections, maybe even seeing them as something that made the loved one even more lovable.

Takumi appeared from the kitchen with a glass of water and the curative for her headache. She accepted them with gratitude, put the pill on her mouth and swallowed it with the help of some liquid.

"You should sleep. We can talk after you feel a bit better if you still want to, but for now, please rest."

"Will you sleep over?"

"Do you want me to?" his voice was teasing, and as expected of her, she blushed.

xxx

She woke up in the middle of the night only to find herself in Takumi's arms. She was very used to the safety they provided, and she loved how her human heater made soft noises while sleeping. He looked so very peaceful asleep, and she hoped to see that expression more on his face when he was awake.

Misaki sighed contently and buried herself closer to her heater.

_Yes._ She was in love with Takumi.


End file.
